Together
by darkpetaltaki
Summary: She was ordered to be captured for a reason. She meets him again and things took a turn no one ever expected. The only way for them to get through things is to do it together...sasusaku...lemons in some chap. R&R.
1. Chap 1: Captured

**Full summary: Orochimaru has Sakura captured to use her to strengthen Oto and future plans. Konoha's cherry blossom meets up with her former raven haired teammate and things being to take a turn they never expected. Sakura's feeling for the raven haired man have come back and Sasuke is beginning to develop feelings for his former teammate. With goals to still accomplish, what will Sasuke and Sakura do? With each step they take, they get closer to their goals and dreams. ... sasusaku… rated M for later chapters. There will be spoilers in this fanfic!**

**Yay! Hello readers! This is my first fanfic! I had this idea for a while and now it's out. Hope you enjoy reading.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this fanfic.**

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Chapter 1: Captured 

_The sun shined down on the village of Konoha. Young children were heading off to the ninja academy, some shinobis and kunoichis were either heading out or come back from a mission, other ninjas were getting their day started. The streets bustled with outdoor markets and people going from shop to shop to buy their things._

_In the red mansion of the Hokage, the Godaime was waiting for the person she wanted to see._

"_Come in Sakura," Tsunade ordered as she heard the knock on the door._

_She knew that familiar chakra anywhere that was outside her door._

"_Hai!" An 18-year-old, pink haired, emerald eyed girl come through the door way with a gleaming look on her face as her day began. "You wanted to see me Tsunade-shishou?"_

_Tsunade put the report she was reading down on her desk with a sigh of discomfort. She looked at her young and genius apprentice as she folded her hands in front of her mouth. "Sakura, I have a mission for you. You will be accompanied by four ANBU members, Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Neji, and Uzumaki Naruto."_

_Although the Godaime's voice had a serious tone to it, Sakura could see worry in her eyes. Ever since Sakura's family was killed, Tsunade had always treated Sakura as if she was her own daughter. Sakura had wasted all her tears since her love left forever and her parents died. She had never shed a tear for so many years; it was like she forgot how to cry._

"_Tsunade-shishou," Sakura said with a worried voice. "Is there something I should know about the mission? You don't seem unhappy about it."_

"_Sakura…" Tsunade's voice was full of worry as she spoke to Sakura. "It's nothing, just complete the mission."_

_Confused of why this bothered her mentor so much, Sakura walked over to the desk to look at the mission request. After reading the report, Sakura thought that it was a simple mission that didn't require any ANBU force, just a cell of three members would be enough._

"_Is there something wrong?"_

_Tsunade held back her emotions and spoke in a serious tone. "Iie, just complete the mission and have everyone come back safely. You will be leaving in the evening."_

_Confused, Sakura didn't want to bother Tsunade with any more questions. "Hai!"_

_As Sakura left the room, her apprentice sister, Shizune, walked in greeting Sakura as she left. After the door was closed and Sakura was nowhere near the room, Tsunade let some tears fall._

"_You didn't tell her about it?"_

"_Even if I did, she will just go on completing the mission no matter what stands in her way." Tsunade took in a deep breath to clam herself. "It just hurts to keep a secret like this from her."_

"_What you are doing is understandable Tsunade-sama."_

_The Hokage sighed. "I know she will return. When she comes back, I will tell her and Naruto."_

_Shizune nodded in agreement._

* * *

In the forest of Konoha, eight ninjas headed back to their village after completing the mission handed to them a week ago by the Godaime. They were jumping from one tree branch to another in the dark, but the moon light the place enough for them to see. 

"Sakura-chan! Oy!" the hyperactive blond ninja, Naruto called out to his pinked haired teammate. "SAKURA-CHAN!"

Sakura snapped out her daze to face Naruto. He was like the brother she never had and a very close friend. Whenever she looked down, the pink haired girl could always count on him to try to cheer her up.

"Gomen Naruto. I was just thinking about our mission."

"Doushite, Sakura-chan?"

"I just think it was kind of odd that we were sent."

"I agree. Our mission was simple, that it should be considered a C-rank mission but yet Tsunade-sama sent us," said the long dark haired man. His pearl white eyes showed confusion as he spoke in a calm voice.

"Neji-san is right," said Sakura. "Even though Oto has been planning to attack Konoha for a while, Tsunade-sama probably doesn't want us to be attacked by them in any way."

"I still think it's unusual for this many people to be on a mission. Right Akamaru!" Kiba looked at his large dog and it answered in agreement with a bark.

"Sakura-san," said one of the ANBU officers behind her. "If we keep at this speed and pace, we should reach the village by day break."

Sakura nodded. Ever since they started to head back to Konoha, Sakura kept feeling the presences of someone following them. She thought that it was just her because the others didn't seem to notice anything, even the ANBU.

All of a sudden Kiba and Akamaru stopped on a branch and signal the others to do the same.

"What is it Kiba?" asked Naruto as he went into his pouch for a kunai knife.

Kiba sniffed the air. "There's a strong smell of blood heading our way."

Without any hesitation, Neji activated his Byakugan to scan the area. After a minute of searching, his chakra stopped flowing into his eyes.

"I don't see anyone around but us."

Sakura looked around. "Can it be a genjutsu?" she asked herself quietly.

The Byakugan user listened to the surroundings then said, "Even if there is someone here, we would know-"

Neji was cut off as kunais and shurikens came flying toward the group.

"Damn!" Sakura cursed. "Don't waste your time here fighting, even if it's Oto! We have to get back to the village!"

Everyone jumped at full speed from branch to branch dodging all the kunais and shurikens aimed at them. When they were about to reach the road that led straight to Konoha village, an explosion ahead stopped them from going farther.

Sakura charged ahead with a chakra filled fist to break the trees but froze when a group of ninjas appeared and surrounded them.

"We didn't come here to start a war Sakura-san," a cold but familiar voice said. A pair of glasses reflected in the moon light. "We just came here to complete a mission for Orochimaru-sama."

"Kabuto!" yelled Naruto as a red chakra started to glow around him. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?"

Kabuto let of a small laugh and replied, "Nothing much. I just came to get a little someone to bring back to Orochimaru-sama. Don't worry, if you agree, no one will die."

Without any warning, half of the sound ninjas fell into a huge creator created by Sakura. She then tied an explosive tag to a kunai and threw it into the creator. She walked away and back toward the group as if it was nothing as the tag went off killing the sound ninjas in the hole.

"What were you saying about no one dying?" Sakura asked sarcastically as charged at the Sound medic suddenly.

The punch was a direct it to Kabuto's left cheek as it sent him flying. As he hit the group hard to a complete stop, a dark figure appeared behind him.

"You said you could handle it by yourself," said the figure with a cold harsh voice. "It looks more like your being beaten by just one kunoichi."

"Ah, Sasuke-kun, nice of you to join us," said Kabuto as he stood up healing his broken jaw and swollen cheek. "It seems like I have underestimated our main target."

Naruto grew angry at the sight of Sasuke there and started charging. "Sasuke-teme! I'm going to take you back with us!"

As Naruto's fist came, a pair of red eyes opened and moved with quick speed. Sasuke kicked Naruto in the stomach to keep him from interfering in their mission. Naruto fell to the ground in pain from the impact.

"NARUTO!" Sakura yelled out.

Without any hesitation, Neji, Kiba, and Akamaru charged towards Sasuke with the intension of beating him down. The four ANBU ninjas spread out to take out the Sound ninjas. Before joining the battle again, Sakura punched an opening to the path so that her comrades could escape after they handled the enemy.

Sakura didn't know if she could handle fighting in this battle anymore. She knew that being a ninja met all emotions had to be set aside or cast away, but this was a difficult situation. The person she longed to bring back to the village was right there, fighting against them. She wished this was just a dream; when she woke up she would be in her bed, rushing to meet the rest of the members of team seven on the bridge.

Unfortunately for her, it was reality. She needed to cast away her feelings, no; she had to cast away all her feelings and emotions if she wanted to be able to help her friends. Sakura shut her eyes tightly and clenched her fist. A signal tear rolled down her cheek as she tried to control all her emotions.

'_He's no longer the Sasuke-kun I know and loved,'_ she said to herself. _'He's an enemy to Leaf.'_

As she turned around to join the battle, the Sound ninjas were all down and Kabuto was fighting against the ANBU. Akamaru and Kiba were down after taking a series of blows from the Uchiha. They weren't seriously injured, but a few cuts and broken bones. Neji and Naruto kept their pace with their opponent as they tried to get strong blows through Sasuke's defense. Seeing that Uchiha Sasuke was more of a threat then Kabuto, Sakura ran to aid her friends.

When Sakura got to her opponent, Neji and Naruto were beginning to slow down. As the two kept driving to get a hit, Sakura appeared behind Sasuke and kicked his side causing him to fly into a tree, breaking it because of the power Sakura used.

'_When did she get that strength?' _Sasuke thought to himself as he touched his side to feel the damage it caused. He slightly winced when he finally realized the pain. '_This is going to be interesting.'_

As Sasuke got back on his feet, Neji and Naruto rushed him at both sides. Naruto has his fist clenched tightly as it headed for Sasuke's face. Neji had his Byakugan ready to attack his chakra points. As their fist closed in, Sasuke stopped their blow by grabbing their wrist.

"Chidori Nagashi."

Blue lightning admitted from Sasuke's body. As it hit Naruto and Neji, they screamed out in pain. Sasuke let go of his opponent as they slump to the ground, unconscious.

"NO!" Sakura's rage was growing as she saw her teammates down. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!" She filled her fist with chakra as she ran toward Sasuke without any regrets. There wasn't a tear in her eyes, only anger; but her insides were being torn to pieces.

With the electricity crackling around his body still, Sasuke rushed at Sakura. He couldn't kill her because she was the target. Orochimaru's orders were to bring the apprentice of the Hokage back to the base without killing any of the Leaf shinobi.

In Sakura's other hand were kunais with explosive tags. When Sasuke was in distance, she tossed the kunais. When they were several feet away from Sasuke, the tags exploded.

Not knowing what traps could be ahead, Sasuke stopped and looked around to see if his enemy was around. He didn't sense her chakra anyway nearby, but there was a possibility she had an attack plan. Nothing happed and he thought that the strategy that Sakura used was to get her comrade and run, he let the electricity vanish from his body.

The moment it was gone, Sakura attacked from behind. She punched Sasuke in his abdomen hard, but it didn't make him go very far. When he regained his stance, Sakura was charging again. As her fist was about to make contact with his face, he grabbed her wrist with his left gripping it tighter as she struggled to get free.

"LET GO OF ME, UCHIHA!" Sakura raged, pouring chakra into her other hand. She could feel her tears beginning to build up in her eyes. "WHAT DO YOU WANT OF US?"

Before Sakura could get her answer, Sasuke knock her unconscious.

"You're needed alive."

His calm voice echoed in her ear as she lost control of her body. Sasuke let her wrist free from his grasp, letting Sakura fall into his arms. With his target out cold, Sasuke placed her over his shoulder and jumped on to the tree branch to where Kabuto was.

When Sasuke found him, he was still dealing with the ANBU ninjas.

"I've got what we came here for," said Sasuke with his cold voice. "Just leave the note and head back already."

Sasuke left first, disappearing with Sakura over his shoulder in a whirlwind of fire. Knowing how inpatient Sasuke could get. Kabuto pulled out an envelope from his pouch and dropped it before vanishing.

"Damn! We can't let them get away!" said one of the ANBU.

"No! We have to get the other back and tell Hokage-sama what happened!" yelled out another as he grabbed the envelope Kabuto dropped.

The four ANBU went to get the others and headed back to the village as fast as they could to inform Tsunade what had happened.

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**Yay, I'm finish with the first chapter. Please review.**

**AUTHOR NOTE: This chapter has been revised.**


	2. Chap 2:Better Than The Sannins

**Konichiwa to all readers. Sorry if the summary was crappy. A huge thank you to all of those that reviewed. Sorry if there are any grammar errors and misspellings, it's hard to proofread your own work.**

**Gomen for not mentioning this before about the dialogue. **Blah - normal point of view, _blah - thought/flashback, __**blah - inner/for Naruto's it's the Kyuubi.**_

**Anyways, here's chapter 2. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I own this fanfic.**

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Chapter 2: Better Than the Sannins

The four ANBU were able to return to the village before the sun rises with their injured comrades. Medics rushed Naruto, Neji, Kiba, and Akamaru to the hospital because of the injuries they had received from Sasuke. The ANBU hurried over to the Hokage mansion to tell Tsunade of the Sound attack.

Tsunade was in her office drinking sake and talking to Jiraiya. Shizune usually wouldn't allow her to drink any sake, but knowing how she was feeling, Shizune could only care less. As she walked into the office, the four ANBUs appeared in front of the desk.

"Tsunade-sama" said leader of the four as they all bowed.

"Report! How was the mission?" She took another sip of her sake.

"Inuzuka, Hyuuga, and Uzumaki have suffered some injuries and –"

"Sakura is healing them I presume." Tsunade looked over to Shizune. "Shizune go help over at the hospital."

"Hai." Shizune rushed over to the hospital without questioning.

"About Haruno, Hokage-sama…" began the ANBU as he placed the letter on the desk.

Tsunade froze. Ever since her apprentice left for her mission, Tsunade hasn't been able to rest peacefully.

"The rest of you can leave." Tsunade got up from her seat as three of the ANBU left her office. Jiraiya saw anger beginning to build up within Tsunade. "Where is she?"

The ANBU hesitated to tell Tsunade what had happened. "She was taken by Sound."

"You may leave for now," Jiraiya said to the ANBU so not to have him witness what was about to happen.

The moment the ANBU left, Tsunade cursed and destroyed her desk in half. "I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN HE WAS GOING TO DO THIS!"

Jiraiya was confused. "What do you mean? You knew something was going to happen to Sakura and yet you let her go on the mission?"

Tsunade clench her fists in anger as tears pour of out of her eyes. She didn't answer Jiriya's question, instead she said, "I have to tell them before things get worst. They have a right to know."

Tsunade didn't bother reading the letter. She knew what Orochimaru would have written.

* * *

Sakura woke up and found herself in a dark, filthy cell. Her body was sore and in pain. Her legs were chained and her arms dangled above her head chained to the wall. She tugged on the chains above to try to get free, but didn't have the strength to do it. Sakura wanted to heal her wounds that she had gotten from her mission, but she didn't have enough chakra.

The last things she remembered was being knocked out by the very person that had did the same to her long ago.

'_Where am I?_' Sakura looked around to only see solid walls around and bars in front of her. '_I wonder if the others are okay._'

'_**You should worry about yourself more at a time like this!'**_ her inner ego advised.

Footsteps were heard and were getting louder each second. It didn't bother Sakura because she knew what her life is like to be a ninja. If she were to die, she would die as a ninja of the great Konoha.

"You're awake," said a cold voice as a tall figure stood in front of her cell. As his arms crossed over his chest as he spoke. "I would never have thought you could become this strong."

Sakura felt her body go numb; she was in Sound territory. She wanted to curl into a ball and cry, but she couldn't; she needed to stay strong.

"What do you want from me?" Sakura's face expression was plain, like she didn't care. "If you came here to kill me, just get it over with, Uchiha."

Sasuke smirked at his former teammate's words. "The once shy and scared Haruno Sakura has become a very interesting kunoichi. I expected tears to be pouring out right now."

He was right; tears would be streaming down her cheeks, but she didn't want to be looked down upon ever again. She was going to prove she was no longer the weak twelve year old fan girl, but a strong mature young woman.

Sasuke opened the cell door and walked over to Sakura. He slowly began to pull out his sword that was sheath behind his waist. Sakura turned her head way from the young Uchiha and looked down at the ground. When she heard the sword out of it sheath, Sakura closed her eyes slowly and softly, willingly to take death.

She felt her chains around her leg free. Not knowing what just happened, she opened her eyes and saw that the chains tied around her leg was cut in half. Sasuke's sword then cut the chains that held her arm suspended above her head. She placed her hands on her lap as she rubbed the soreness and pain around her wrist.

He noticed that the Sakura in front of him wasn't like the Sakura he knew from his genin days. Her physical appearance alone was astonishing. Her curves were beyond perfect to Sasuke as he looked at her from head to toe. Her breast complemented her body perfectly compared to others women. Her evenly tone skin was slightly covered with dried blood and dirt. Her emerald eyes held her innocent while her cherry lips screamed to be claimed.

'_**She's hot!'**_ said Sasuke's inner self.

'_Shut up!'_

Sasuke kneed in front of Sakura, try to get her to gaze into his eyes. Seeing that she wouldn't, he brought a hand over to her chin and lifted her head up until they were eye to eye. Sakura's appearance surprised Sasuke, he didn't image the fan girl that always chase after him would disappear. Her facial expression was plain, yet cold at the same time.

Sakura was doing all she could to suppress her emotions, but couldn't help but feel as if she was crumbling.

'_**You still love him, don't deny it girl,'**_ said inner Sakura.

'_The only love I have left is for those in Konoha. This cold hearted bastard doesn't deserve to have any,'_ argued Sakura to her inner self. At least that was what she was telling herself.

'_**Sooner or later you're going to fall for him. And when it does happen, don't blame for not telling you!'**_

Sakura pushed Sasuke's hand away from her face, still looking into his dark onyx eyes.

"What do you want if you're not here to kill me?"

Sasuke stood up, towering over Sakura replying, "Orochimaru said he wanted to see the both of us. I'm just here to get you."

"Why did he send you and not one of his other slaves?"

She saw the Uchiha narrow his eyes slightly at her. She knew that provoking him more could cause problems for her. She wanted to know why the snake sannin had send Sasuke to get her and not Kabuto or other Sound ninjas. Could it be that Orochimaru has something planned that involved both her and Sasuke? She wouldn't know until he was at the presence of the sannin.

As Sakura stood up, she kept her eyes at the door. She could use this chance to escape and maybe get Sasuke to leave with her. Sasuke noticed what she had in mind and put the sword's blade in front of her to stop her.

"Don't think about trying to escape. I'll even kill you if I have to keep you here."

The threatening words send chills all over Sakura's body, but her face stayed plain without any expression still. He was willing to kill her; it was enough proof to show he had broken his bonds. She nodded to show she understood what Sasuke just said.

Sasuke sheath is sword in its rightful place and walked out of the cell with Sakura following behind. As they walked, Sakura kept asking herself how a person could live in such a place. The walls where cramped in, making her feel as if the walls were suffocating her as she walked deeper in.

She would take small glances at Sasuke every once in a while. She felt so confused, unable to tell what her emotions were saying to her. Could she really still have feelings for him? Whether or not she did or didn't, she needed to stay strong and hide all her emotions behind a mask.

When they reached a door at a dead end, Sasuke opened the door to reveal Orochimaru sitting in a chair in the middle of the room and Kabuto standing beside him. Sasuke walked in with Sakura behind, when she was inside, Sasuke slammed the door shut.

"My, is Sasuke-kun angry?" said Orochimaru with his cold chilling voice. "And it's good to see you again, Konoha's cherry blossom. I bet you're wondering why you've been brought here, Sakura-chan."

She was disgusted that the snake sannin would use the suffix to her name as if he knew her very well.

"Get to the point already, Orochimaru!" Sasuke was short tempered whenever he was dragged to see Orochimaru about thing.

"As you know, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and myself are known as the three legendary sannin of Konoha. It seems like news has gotten out that each one of us has an apprentice."

Sakura was getting annoyed that Orochimaru was taking his time explaining thing. She wanted to run up the snake sannin and tear him into pieces and drag Sasuke back with her. If only taking action at the moment wasn't so difficult. It was three against one and she was low on chakra as it is.

Unable to hold back, she shrieked out in anger. "So what?"

"Well, it seems the beautiful cherry blossom can be feisty." Sakura sent a glare at the man. "Those that have witnessed Sasuke-kun's, that Kyuubi boy's, and your power now fear you. It seems the three of you have been proclaimed to be stronger than the legendary sannin." Orochimaru gave a little chuckle before continuing. "I personal believe that it's true. And due to the imbalance in power, Konoha would be best an ally power than an enemy."

"Is that all you kidnapped me for? I could have heard this from Tsunade-shishou." Sakura was beginning to flare up; the sight of Orochimaru disgusted her.

"She didn't tell you? I've been planning to kidnap you for a while. I decided to have you captured to become a part of Oto and here you are now."

All her mixed emotions disappeared, replaced with anger; she wasn't going to let them use her. Sakura clenched her fist after hearing what Orochimaru said. "I'm just another item to add into your collect. Is my only purpose here for you to gain more power?"

"If that's how you want to see it, Sakura-san," said Kabuto. "But Orochimaru-sama has one other reason." Pushing up his glasses, Kabuto looked over to Sasuke. "If you don't mind Sasuke-kun, please wait outside as we finish talking to Sakura-san."

Sasuke gave a cold look at Kabuto before walking out. When the door was closed, Orochimaru looked over at Sakura with his snake eyes.

"I have decided not to use Sasuke-kun as my next vestal any more, Sakura-chan," said Orochimaru. An evil smile grew as he spoke. "I have decided to choose another. A special child and its parents have surpassed the legendary sannins."

Sakura knew what Orochimaru was saying. "I would rather die than help the likes of you!" said Sakura with anger coming from every word at Orochimaru. "Or be touched or used by that traitor!"

Sakura's heart bled when she said that about Sasuke, but it was somewhat true. Yes, deep inside, part of her did love the traitor, but it would always be unrequited love.

"Unfortunately, you don't have a choice Sakura-chan," Orochimaru said with a slight amusement in his voice. "Kabuto has been working on a special potion to cause permanent amnesia."

"And how is that going to help?" she questioned.

"If you don't cooperate, we'll have no other choice but to use it on you to get what I want. By giving you false memory information, you will think there is nothing wrong."

Sakura clenched her teeth. "What if he doesn't comply with your plans? You're still screwed either way."

Orochimaru chuckled. "Sakura-chan did you think we didn't think out a plan for everything? Our dear Sasuke-kun would cooperate, but if he doesn't, we'll have no other choice and use the potion on him as well."

Sakura clenched her first tighter. Whether she agreed or disagreed with the orders Orochimaru gave her, she would used either way.

"There's no need to answer right away Sakura-chan," the snake sannin said. "You have plenty of time to think it over."

"Sakura-san, please follow me," said Kabuto in his calm amused voice.

Sakura had no other choose but to follow. As she walked out the door, Sakura coldly passed Sasuke. The Uchiha had his back leaning against the wall.

Kabuto walked pass Sasuke and said to him, "Sasuke-kun, Orochimaru-sama would like to speak to you now."

Without giving the medic an answer, Sasuke walked into the room, slamming the door shut.

* * *

In the meeting room, all the Chuunins, Jounins, and ANBU ninjas were gathered together. The rookies, Neji, Tenten, Rock Lee, and head of the clans were present too.

"Tsunade-baa-chan!" yelled out Naruto. "Is it really this important that I had to leave the hospital just to be at this meeting?"

"Naruto, this involves you. And it's a very serious problem," Tsunade answered in a clam voice, instead of yelling at Naruto.

"Tsunade," said Jiraiya. "You better tell us what it is before it causes more problems than it already has."

Tsunade nodded. "As you all know, the students that were once under the care of Hatake Kakashi have been personally trained by one of the three legendary sannin. All three of them have become stronger than their sannin sensei."

Whispers began to fill the room after Tsunade said that there are ninjas stronger than the three sannins of Konoha.

"That's impossible Tsunade-sama," said Yamanaka Ino. "I train with Sakura and we're equal in strength."

"She's right Tsunade-sama," said Ino's teammate, Akimichi Chouji. "I saw Sakura spar against Kakashi-sensei, the only difference between her and Ino was her inhuman-."

"Actually," said Kakashi as he broke off what Chouji was saying. "Every time Sakura spar against me, I have her use about a quarter to half of her overall ability. I have her cut down her abilities more and more each time we spar because of her growing strength and power. I use the Sharingan because it's the only way I can analyze her abilities without being clobbered at all the time."

"Kakashi," said the kunoichi, Yuuhi Kurenai. "You're telling us that Sakura is really that strong."

Kakashi nodded and added on. "Her full strength blows are stronger than Hokage-sama herself, and has the capability of destroying at least half of Konoha."

Everyone could only be at shock at what the copy ninja just said. Only Tsunade and Kakashi were the only ones that knew of Sakura's real monstrous strength. They all looked to Tsunade for the truth.

"Yes, that is true. Haruno Sakura has surpassed me, Naruto has surpassed Jiraiya, and the Uchiha has surpassed Orochimaru too. There were rumors that Orochimaru wanted to capture either Sakura or Naruto. Due to some difficulties concerning these two ninja, Sakura was most likely the main target."

Tsunade had tears forming in the back of her eyes as she spoke those works. Her precious apprentice who was more like a daughter was gone, taken from her. Tsunade clenched her fist to keep the tears from falling. She wanted to kill Orochimaru for the pain he put her through.

"I never thought that the rumors would be true. I saw it as a way for Orochimaru to get our strongest shinobis away from the village so that he'll have a better chance in taking over the village."

'_If only I killed him then. This would have never happened if I killed him then!' _Tsunade regretted what she didn't do when she last encountered her former teammate.

Naruto stood up from his seat and started at Tsunade. "Baa-chan, give me a mission to get her back. I'll bring Sasuke-teme back too."

Kakashi placed his hand on his student's shoulder to calm him down. Naruto turned his head and saw his sensei shaking his head telling him now was not the time.

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**That's the end of Chapter 2 my fellow readers. Please review!**

**AUTHOR NOTE: This chapter has been revised.**


	3. Chap 3: Tears

**Konichiwa to all readers. Arigatou to those that reviewed. I will try to update as often as I can before I get writer's block…hehe. As I've said before, sorry if there's any grammar errors, misspellings, and other kinds of errors. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I own this fanfic.**

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Chapter 3: Tears

After the meeting was over, Tsunade secluded herself in her room to let her emotions run free; it was like she was reliving her past when she lost her love ones. Shizune didn't let anyone bother her; she understood what the Godaime was going through and knew trying to comfort her wasn't going to do much good.

Kakashi, Yamato, and Sai offered to treat Naruto to ramen to cheer him up, but he declined and said he would cook a pack when he got home. It was hard to believe the ramen loving blond would turn down the offer like that. Even when the Naruto wasn't his cheerful self, he would always go for at least one bowl of ramen.

The news of the original members of the team seven spread rapidly that rumors and stories were beginning to pop up, straying from the truth. Rumors were spreading that no matter where one went, it would be heard.

"Haruno Sakura betrayed Konoha just like the Uchiha kid."

"First the Uchiha betrays us and Haruno Sakura is kidnapped by them. What's next, the Kyuubi boy is going to betray us or kidnap by Sound too?!"

"Kakashi was a bad influence from the start. He didn't keep an eye on his students and look what has become of them now!"

"Everyone knew the Kyuubi and Uchiha were trouble, and they influenced a good girl like Sakura-san to turn bad."

"The three of them shouldn't have been allowed to become shinobis."

Naruto locked himself in his house to ignore all the things the villagers were saying about team seven as he walked down the streets. Those words were echoing in his head and it was becoming annoying. The only place we found peace and quiet at was at home. He just made himself a pack of instant ramen and spent the rest of his time staring up at the sky hoping that Sakura was safe with Sasuke.

"You better take care of her teme."

Kakashi spent his time at the training grounds where he and his students had first become team seven. All those fun memories he had with them weren't ever going to fade. Emotionless Sasuke was serious yet quiet; Sakura was the cute innocent fan girl; Naruto the hyperactive knuckle head ninja.

Afterward he went over the memorial stone to let his thoughts out. It was the only place he could let his thought out. When he reached the memorial, he looked the two names belonging to those he lost long ago.

"Where did I go wrong, sensei?" he asked, knowing he wasn't going to get an answer; it was the only way the copy ninja could let his thoughts out. He let out a depressing sigh. "What would you have done in my place Obito?"

* * *

Kabuto was leading Sakura to his lab. He was ordered by Orochimaru to let Sakura get the herbs she would use to heal herself without the use of chakra to see how good her medical skills were. The snake sannin wanted to test Konoha's cherry blossom knowledge in the medical field. He knew Tsunade taught the girl everything she knew, but there was a chance the female sannin didn't teach her apprentice something of great importance to him.

Not a word was exchanged between the medics. Kabuto was two feet ahead of the young woman and would look back every once in a while to make sure the girl hadn't tried to escape. She knew escaping at a time like this would be useless. She didn't' know the area very well and her chances of being able to reach the borders between Oto and Konoha were slim. When they reached the door to the lab, Kabuto opened the door to reveal a dim lit room full of drawers with herbs.

"Sakura-san, you may gather all the herbs you want from here to heal your wounds," said Kabuto with his calm happy like voice. "All the herbs here can't be used for poison or antidotes so don't even think of trying to make any. These herbs are only for basic healing. You can use that basket over there to put it all in."

Sakura was tired of being ordered around, but she didn't have any other choice; she needed to heal herself. She walked into the dim room, looking though all the herbs. As he waited at the door way, Sasuke's strong chakra was nearing. Kabuto turned and saw the Uchiha standing there.

"Ah, Sasuke-kun, just in time," Kabuto said with a smile on his face. "May I speak to you outside?"

"Hn."

"Excuse us for a moment Sakura-san. Take your time picking what you need," said Kabuto as he closed the door to speak to Sasuke.

Sasuke had his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes closed. He was leaning his back on the wall opposite to the door of the lab. Through he didn't look like it, he hated when his time was wasted, but he had no other choice if he wanted to gain more power. Kabuto reached into his pouch and pulled out a syringe with a dark liquid flowing in it.

"Take this Sasuke-kun," said Kabuto has he handed over the syringe to the Uchiha when he put out a hand. "Orochimaru-sama has decided to leave the life of the kunoichi in your hands. You get to play with her life. You must make your decision quickly and inject the antidote into her heart. Mind you that the poison will take effect-"

Kabuto stopped talking as they heard Sakura's footsteps near the door. Kabuto went over to open the door and saw that the basket was filled with different herbs.

"I'll take you to your room," said Sasuke as he began to walk, commanding Sakura to follow him.

"Actually Sasuke-kun," said Kabuto in a happy tone. Sasuke stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Didn't Orochimaru-sama tell you? She'll be sharing a room with you."

Sakura was boiling; they kidnapped her, order her around, and now they want her to sleep with Sasuke. She hadn't given Orochimaru her answer yet and the snake sannin had to rush things. She wanted to tear the sound medic into pieces, but all she could do now was punch him. She was about to do so, but Sasuke got a hold of him first. He gripped Kabuto by the neck lifting him up, his feet dangled, but not kicking or struggling to get free. Sasuke slammed the medic's head into the wall countless times until it drew blood. His onyx eyes turned blood red as he thrashed his victim.

"If it wasn't for Orochimaru, you would be dead already."

Sasuke snapped Kabuto's neck with ease and tossed him to the other end of the hall. Sakura was surprised that Sasuke would do something that cruel to one of Orochimaru's most loyal henchmen.

"Follow me." Sasuke didn't bother looking at Kabuto as he spoke to Sakura.

With no other choice, Sakura followed Sasuke to his room. It wasn't going to be just his room now, it was their room. Knowing Sasuke's attitude, she knew he wouldn't try anything, but could be wrong.

As Kabuto slowly recover, he stood up rubbing his neck. On rare occasions, he had to grow through his this torture, but he was lucky enough he could regenerate his body's cells.

'_That hurt.'_ An evil smile formed on his face. _'But no worries, he will pay.'_

* * *

"_What the hell do you want from me now?" Sasuke was in a foul mood._

"_Convince Sakura-chan to join Sound. She will be of great use to us." Orochimaru's voice was full of amusement. "Combined with you, she will be a magnificent addition of power."_

_Sasuke just stared at Orochimaru with his plain emotionless face. He hated to do the bidding of the snake, but it was the only way to gain power. Sasuke turned around to walk out of the room._

"_I will take that as a yes, Sasuke-kun."_

"_Think whatever you want. I have better things to do." Sasuke was turning the knob on the door when Orochimaru stopped him._

"_There's one more thing, Sasuke-kun." Sasuke stopped to listen to what the snake had to say. "You'll be sharing a room with the beautiful cherry blossom."_

_Sasuke turned around facing Orochimaru. He clenched his fist tightly that his knuckles turned white. His eyes fumed with anger as he gave an evil glare toward the sannin._

"_WHY?" Sasuke's onyx eyes turned blood red._

"_Besides helping me, Sakura-chan can be of use to the great Uchiha Sasuke," said Orochimaru with a little chuckle in his voice. "I want to see if the Uchiha has any hormones."_

_Sasuke glared daggers at Orochimaru before leaving the room._

* * *

As Sasuke lead Sakura, it was silence. Neither breathed a word to one another.

'_**Talk to him! This silence is getting awkward every moment!'**_ Sakura's inner self complained.

'_What am I suppose to say? I hate your guts, just kill me!'_ Sakura tried to convince her inner self to agree with her. _'The last time I saw him, he had almost killed Naruto!'_

'_**That was so long ago. Deep down, your feelings for him haven't changed and you know it!'**_

'_I was captured because of what Orochimaru wants and nothing more!' _Sakura wanted to ignore her inner ego. _'Just leave me alone.'_

Inner Sakura didn't want to bother Sakura any more. Even though her emotions didn't show it, Sakura was mixed with feelings. Why did these sorts of things have to happen to her? It was like faith wanted her to be an emotional wreck. She preferred rotting in the cell than be used for Orochimaru's dreams, yet part of her wanted to be close to Sasuke.

The Uchiha was thinking over whether or not to give the antidote to the pink haired kunoichi. He was thinking up all the possible things that could happen. The snake sannin wouldn't be very pleased because his plans would be ruined; the Uchiha wouldn't have to share his room and his old bond with his female teammate would be broken, completely. Then again, her death would mean war between Oto and Konoha. He would have to deal with no one raging ninja, but several just because he killed her.

'_What the hell am I going to do?'_ he questioned himself.

When they reached the door to the room, Sasuke's fingertips on his right hand glow a light blue. Sakura saw that he was using chakra to open the door.

Sasuke swung open the door and looked at Sakura with his dark eyes, ordering her to get in. She walked pass him coldly, without gazing into his eyes. She had the feeling that whatever look she gave him, he would stare back emotionless or glare at her.

'_Sakura seems colder,' _Sasuke couldn't help but think that.

"Sakura," said Sasuke as he walked in and closed the door behind him. "I'm going to inject an antidote into you."

'_**What antidote?!'**_ The inner ego was trying to get Sakura to listen, but Sakura just ignored everything. _**'What the hell is he talking about?! Oy!'**_

Sakura didn't move a muscle from where she was. She didn't care if she was going to die, she choose death over being used, even over Sasuke. Tears began to form in her eyes, but she didn't let it fall. She held all her tears from falling; she was going to prove she was strong. Sakura put her left hand on her chest as she felt a stinging pain building up from inside. She could feel her body giving in to a force as her body grew weak.

Her grip on the basket loosened, making everything drop to the ground as she began to sway backward slowly. Sakura lost her balance and was about to hit the ground, but an arm caught her just in time.

Sasuke saw that Sakura was suffering from pain as she gripped her clothes in the location her heart was. Her breathing fastened and grew unclear with each breath she desperately tried to take in. Tears began to run down her face as her emerald eyes widen. She was burning up, but her body began to grow cold.

'_Damn those bastards!'_ Sasuke cursed under his breath as he carried Sakura to his bed.

He drew his other arm under her knees and carried her up bridal style. Sasuke placed the kunoichi down on the bed slowly. As he sat beside her and moved her hands away from her clothing, Sasuke slowly unzipped her shirt revealing her underclothing. Her abdomen had blood soaked bandages wrapped around from injuries she received from her mission.

He took out the syringe, bit off the cape on the needle and stabbed it into Sakura's heart. She gave out a loud cry of pain as she gripped the bed sheet with her right and Sasuke's right arm with her other hand. Sakura was tossing from the unbearable pain as the liquid slowly left the tube and into her body. Sasuke had his left hand on her shoulder to hold her down from moving away.

When the antidote was given, Sasuke pulled out the syringe and tossed to the corner. Sakura stopped screaming as her grip on his arm began to weaken. Her eyes slowly close and her breathing lightened. Her body grew cold and soon Sakura seemed lifeless.

Sasuke brought his right hand to Sakura's neck to check her pulse and felt a fading pulse.

"Sakura!" Sasuke shook Sakura. With no response, he sat her up shaking her violently. "Damn it! Don't die!"

'_Why am I giving a damn about her? I broke all my bonds…she is nothing to me. Sakura's here because of that bastard Orochimaru. If she dies, it's not my fault!'_

'_**Are you willing to live with the guilt of letting her die?'**_ Sasuke's inner asked. _**'You didn't kill the dobe back then and now you're letting her die.'**_

'_Shut up and leave me be!'_

Suddenly Sakura's eyes shot open and her heart raced in pain. Every breath she took in was deep and hard. She clenched her abdomen with her left hand as she coughed violently. Her heart raced to gain every breath her body lost. Sasuke had his hands on her shoulder, supporting her from falling over.

"Why…why did you…help me?" Sakura was still coughing. She moved her hand away from her mouth and saw that she coughed up some blood.

She clenched her hand into a light fist to keep Sasuke from seeing the blood. Before she could put her hand down, Sasuke grabbed her wrist with his right hand opened her fist to see the blood. He freed his grip on her wrist and his hand began to glow blue with chakra. Sasuke placed his glowing hand on her chest.

Sasuke was sending his chakra through Sakura to relax her body from the pain. She thought his touch would be cold, but to her surprise, it was warm. Sakura's face flushed a light pink; to have the opposite sex touch her like that was odd, especially when it was Sasuke who was doing it. When her body was relaxed, Sasuke removed his hand from her chest.

"Answer me. Why did you help me?" Sakura's voice was hoarse as tears began to build up in her eyes. "Why didn't you let me die?"

Tears were starting to drip down her cheeks. Sasuke just stared at her with a blank face as he stood up from the bed, towering over her.

"Why am I crying? I thought I had shed all my tears for you," Sakura whispered to herself in a low voice, but the young Uchiha heard her. She whipped her tears with her fingers, but new tears kept falling. "I haven't cried in so long and now my tears are falling freely."

'_**Those are tears of pain and suffering that you kept locked away!'**_ Inner Sakura was trying to get Sakura to realize that her love for the sole survivor of the Uchiha clan. _**'You still love him!'**_

He looked at his former teammate and felt slightly responsible for her tears.

'_**Look what you did!'**_ Sasuke's inner thoughts were acting on their own now. _**'You made her cry! AGAIN! How many times are you going to make her cry?'**_

'_It isn't my fault she always cries over me,'_ Sasuke said bitterly to his inner.

'_**Yes it is, and you know it!'**_

Sakura tried to sob as quietly as she could, whipping the tears that kept flowing from her eyes. Sasuke was still able to hear her cry. He couldn't stop his thoughts of the kunoichi from pouring into his mind; revenge was all that mattered to him. Sasuke left the room to clear his thoughts, leaving Sakura to cry alone.

* * *

**That's the end of this chapter. Hoped you liked it. Please review fellow readers.**

**AUTHOR NOTE: This chapter has been revised.**


	4. Chap 4: Curse Mark and Mixed Feelings

**Konichiwa readers. I would like to say thank you to all the readers that reviewed. I'm getting good feed backs and it's making me update more often. Sorry for any possible errors. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I own this fanfic.**

* * *

Chapter 4: Curse Mark and Mixed Feelings

Sakura was finally able to calm herself when Sasuke was out of the room. She didn't understand why her tears fell when she hadn't cried for so long. Sakura felt that she didn't have any more tears to cry out, but she was wrong. It was like all her emotions, pressure, and stress finally build up and she needed to get rid of it all.

She got out of the bed and zipped her shirt back on, blushing as she remembered what Sasuke did. Her body felt sore, but she didn't want to stay and do the bidding of Orochimaru. She knew it would mean leaving alone without Sasuke, but she had no other choice, this was her only chance. Sakura walked over to the door silently and as quick as her body could move so not to make any noise. She slowly turned the knob and peered out to see if there was anyone there. To her liking, there was no one in sight.

'_Here's my only chance of escaping.'_ She took in a deep breath and exhaled out_. 'Better not waste my chakra.'_

Sakura walked out of Sasuke's room and closed the door behind her quietly. She walked several steps from the door to an area where the wall was soft and felt air coming through. Building up only a small amount of chakra in her index finger, she tapped the wall and it began to crumble.

When the hole was big enough for her to go though, she let the sun light hit her body, taking in the sun light as if it was her first time out of the dark. It was already around early afternoon. Slowly stepping out, Sakura saw that the area was surrounded by trees. She slowly made her way through the tree trying to get through, but the trees were thick. The only way she could get out of the place was to jump from branch to branch, but that would mean using chakra.

'_Shit, I don't have enough chakra. If any of the Sound ninjas come after me, I won't be able to fight them off!'_

'_**You know, you could always wait until you've fully recover,' **_inner Sakura blabbed out. _**'Then you might be able bring your beloved Sasuke back too.'**_

'_I'm not going to stay in the presents of those bastards! I rather risk trying to escape!'_

'_**You're too stubborn. They'll catch up to you faster because of your injuries and you're low on chakra.'**_

'_I don't care!'_

'_**Oh why do I even bother?'**_

The moment her inner ego left, shuriken stars were aimed at her. Sakura got up to avoid them, but got several scratches on her left forearm. She pushed chakra into her legs to have them take her as far as they could carry her, but before Sakura could run, she was knocked out.

Her surrounding became black and her body fell. Right before her body hit the ground, she felt a pair of arms catch her.

* * *

_Sasuke was sitting up in a tree trying to clear his mind. He never had real feelings for the kunoichi and now odd things were happening to him. But what his inner last said to him was true, he was the reason she always cried._

_The Uchiha looked up into the blue sky; there were so many questions going through his mind. Why was he in the same team as the pink haired kunoichi and the blond knuckle head? There had to be another reason besides balancing out the team. What was the meaning of their bond? Was it faith that he and the cherry blossom met again?_

_He closed his eyes and leaned back into the tree._

"_Uchiha-sama," a male voice said from below._

_The said person looked down and saw a Sound ninja standing there looking up._

"_Sakura-sama has left and Orochimaru-sama is requesting you go after her," he said._

_To say that Sakura left was very unlikely. It was more like the kunoichi escaped._

"_Hn," was all the Uchiha said._

_The Sound Ninja left and Sasuke just disappeared in a puff of smoke to go after the pink haired kunoichi._

_It wasn't difficult to find the kunoichi and bringing her back wasn't any problem either._

* * *

When Sakura came to, she noticed that she was back in the Sound base. Her body felt numb, but she was still about to move her body. She sat herself up and looked around. There was a group of Sound shinobis surrounding her, each with their kunais drawn. She was somewhat afraid of what they were planning on doing to her, but she knew she would have to stay strong and stand up on her own.

'_**Don't think about taking them on, even though you're capable of kicking their asses.'**_

Sakura agreed with her inner and sat on the ground waiting.

"You're awake now, Sakura-san." Half the Sound ninjas left when Kabuto waved his hand to dismiss them. "You shouldn't have run away like that."

"Why the hell do you care?" Sakura wanted to rip him into pieces. "It's not like I'll be of any use to you."

"I can gain more medial knowledge from you Sakura-san," the male medic said.

"Tch, like I will show you anything," the young woman said with venom dripping from every word. "I don't care what Orochimaru has planned, I'm not going to be used."

"Oh but my dear Sakura-chan," Orochimaru's voice said, coming from the dark hallway in front of her. When he came into sight, Sasuke was behind him. "I was just about to give you a very nice gift and make you addition to our _family_."

Sakura bit the inside of her cheeks and held back all her emotions. She needed to fight against them, against Sasuke if she wanted to be able to return back to Konoha. Her mind was made up; she was going to fight.

"I'll decline whatever it is." Sakura stood up ready to fight. "I rather be left in the cell to die or you can just kill me here and now."

"Oh, but I can't do that. You're needed to help me accomplish my goals. Did you forget our conversation?" The snake sannin chuckled.

The pink haired girl narrowed her eyes. "And what is this so called gift."

"The heaven curse seal, just like the one Sasuke-kun has."

In a blink of an eye, Kabuto was behind Sakura and was aiming to temporally immobilize her. The male medic has his right hand glowing with chakra and was about to hit a certain pressure points by her spinal cord. Orochimaru made a few hand signs and his neck was beginning to stretch as he headed to bite Sakura. Making a quick turn, Sakura punched Kabuto in the stomach then tapped the upper part his spinal cord with her index finger, immobilizing him. Before Kabuto could realize what had happened, he was forcefully kicked to the other side of the room.

Sakura knew that Kabuto was the easiest to deal with and choose to focus more on Orochimaru. As his head approached to give her the curse mark, Sakura grabbed Orochimaru's neck at the point close to the head and punched him in the face. She barely used much chakra, since she needed to save it. Some of his bones shattered and blood began to bleed from his broken nose. With that strength she had, Sakura hurled Orochimaru to the wall by his neck.

Orochimaru rasped as he called out to Sasuke. "Hold her down for me Sasuke-kun so that I can give her the curse mark."

Before moving, Sasuke give Orochimaru a scornful look then swiftly got behind Sakura. Cursing under her breath, Sakura turned around only to end up trying to avoid his kick to her wounded abdomen. Because her body hadn't fully recovered yet, she was unable to dodge the quick blow. As his leg moved away from her abdomen, Sakura made a few quick attacks on Sasuke. She stopped the chakra flow in his arms and made a few of his leg muscles rip.

'_Where did she learn this from?'_ Sasuke thought to himself as he moved away from getting more damage.

He was beginning to feel a sting pain in his leg. The Uchiha had to be careful, for there was a chance that the cherry blossom would attach him at the same spot.

The young woman was panting slightly after the receiving the hit to her abdomen. She was beginning to feel her body weakening.

'_I won't last any longer! I have to try to finish this!'_ Sakura couldn't help but curse. _'Damn, shit!'_

The attacks drained most of her chakra, but Sakura didn't intend to give up without a fight. As Sasuke came charging at her, Sakura felt her body beginning to slow down. About to throw a punch at Sasuke, he dodged, grabbing her wrist and brought her arm behind her. He quickly grabbed her other arm and brought it behind her back.

"Let go of me Uchiha!"

With such little strength left, all she could do was try to resist. She tried to pull her arms out of his grasp, but he was too strong. Sakura was about to use her legs to kicks him on the shins, but Sasuke had brought her down to her knees as he held on to her arms.

"Hurry up already Orochimaru!" Sasuke hollered over to the snake sannin.

Orochimaru made the hand signs again, letting his neck stretch and neared Sakura. When he bit her, the snake sannin sunk his two fangs into her flesh as Sakura screamed out in pain, her emerald eyes widen. As he lifted his teeth from her skin and retracted his neck to its rightful place. Sasuke let Sakura go and she clenched the area Orochimaru had bitter her as the curse mark appeared.

"I WON'T BETRAY KONOHA!" Sakura yelled out at him in pain. Tears had gathered in her eyes. "GET RID OF IT OROCHIMARU!"

"It's too late for that my dear Sakura-chan," said Orochimaru, snickering. "You're one of us now."

With the last of her strength, Sakura rushed over to punch Orochimaru to send him flying, but Sasuke caught her punch before it could land on Orochimaru. Unable to stay conscious, Sakura passed out, hitting the ground hard. Her lose tears flowed from her eyes and dripped onto the ground.

Kabuto was finally up after his body was able to generate back to its normal state. It was the second time in a day that he's body had to do regenerate and both were caused by the 'new' sannins.

Sasuke sat down staring at Sakura as he tried to get the feeling in his legs back. Kabuto healed Orochimaru's broken face then went over to heal Sasuke. The male medic was fascinated by the why Sakura could easily do that. When healed, Sasuke got up to head back to his room.

"Sasuke-kun," said Orochimaru. "Bring Sakura-chan back with you to your room." Sasuke looked over his shoulder at the sannin. "We don't want her to get hurt now, do we?"

Sasuke was annoyed by Orochimaru but didn't have any other choice. He was ordered to share his room with her and that would mean Sakura was under his care. He picked up Sakura, putting her over his left shoulder and walked out.

When he was far away from the eyes of Orochimaru and Kabuto, Sasuke slowly put Sakura down to carry her in both arms, bridal style. He didn't want Sakura to get more injuries than she already had. And being low with chakra wasn't any help either in her condition.

When they reached the room, Sasuke gently placed Sakura down on the bed. She was beginning to strike a high fever and her body was shivering. If she didn't get over the pain and high fever, she would die from the seal. Sasuke when to the bathroom and got a cold wet cloth to place on her forehead hoping that it would help. Seeing that her wounds were bleeding, he had no other choice but to treat them.

Orochimaru had made Sasuke sit through some of Kabuto's corrupted experiments. All the ways to kill a human, both painfully and instantly, were imbedded in his mind, but he never used any of those techniques. He wouldn't hit any vital area whenever in battle. While witnessing the experiments, he was able to pick up some basic medic knowledge and he was thankful for that. Because all of Sakura's injuries weren't serious, Sasuke was able to treat her wounds without any trouble or use of chakra.

He removed her shirt to clean and bandage the wounds on her abdomen. The bandage had soaked up blood when her wound opened after he had kicked her. Sasuke then bandaged her arm and wiped of the dirt and sweat around her face. There was one bandage on her upper right arm that Sasuke left untouched for it seemed whatever wound was there was okay. While taking care of her, there was a slight blush on his cheeks. The blush was darker when he was wiping along her lower abdomen.

'_**Damn…told you she was hot!'**_

'_Shut up!'_

'_**Then why the hell are you blushing?'**_ Sasuke was left speechless. _**'So you do agree with me. I bet there been tons of guys that are willing to do anything to have her for a night. She could even have her own fan club back in Konoha. I wouldn't be surprised if you end up raping her here and now while she's unconscious.'**_

'_Shut the hell up and get out of my head!'_

'_**I can shut up, but too bad I can't leave your head.'**_

Sasuke's inner self just stopped rambling so not to make the Uchiha angrier.

When he was finished, Sasuke placed a blanket over her shivering body. Sakura's face was calm as she slept. He couldn't help but stroke her soft pale cheek.

"I'm sorry for all the pain I caused you." He slowly brought his head down and placed a light kiss on Sakura's forehead.

As he headed over to the sofa to rest, memories from when they were genins taking the chuunin exams came back to him. The pain from getting the curse seal was still vivid in his mind. At the time, Sakura took care of him and Naruto flashed into his head. She had fought the Sound ninjas to protect him and Naruto and also ended up cutting her long hair.

Now it was a different situation and he felt like things were the opposite now.

'_Both of us have changed so much.'_

'_**She did confess her love to you before you left Konoha.' **_Sasuke's inner thoughts tried to convince him to admit his feeling for the kunoichi._** 'You like her don't you?'**_

'_I don't know if I have any feelings for her. I'm an avenger and nothing more.'_

'_**Quit with the excuses. When you were asked about your goals in life when you were a genin, do you remember what you said?'**_

'_To kill my brother and restore my clan.'_

'_**And who are you going to restore your clan with? There's no way you're going to choose those brainless fan girls to be an Uchiha or the mother of your children.'**_

'_True. And who did you have in mind?'_

'_**Sakura. She's different. Even though she was a fan girl, she matured. Sakura cared for who you were, unlike the fan girls that cling to you because of your looks.'**_

'_Ah.'_

'_**You know you like her, may be even love her.'**_ Sasuke's inner was trying to get him to open his eyes to the truth. _**'If you don't believe me, then what is your reason for being gentle toward her? You even apologized to her when she was unconscious."**_

Sasuke didn't know how to answer his inner's question. He didn't even realize that he was acting strange and different around Sakura moments ago. He let a sigh of frustration out, wanting everything that just occurred to be a bad dream.

'_**Face it, there's something between you and the cherry blossom.'**_

He laid on the couch thinking over what his inner said and it always ended up leading back to the pinked hair kunoichi. Sasuke closed his eyes and tried thinking of something else. He tried to focus his mind about his revenge, but an image of Sakura invaded into his thoughts.

She lied naked underneath him, her hair fanned around head. Her half lidded emerald green eyes stared at him, her cheeks flushed, and her cherry lips slightly parted.

The young Uchiha sat up; damn his inner for bring up all those things about the girl. Now he was starting to believe that maybe he did have feelings toward Sakura.

* * *

**You just have to love Sasuke's inner. Well that's the end for this chapter. Please review. Thank you.**

**AUTHOR NOTE: This chapter has been revised.**


	5. Chap 5: Teasing Fun

**Konichiwa minna-san. Arigatou to those that reviewed! Gomen if there's any kind of errors in this chapter.**

**In the last chapter, Sasuke did say sorry, but there was no one around to hear him actually say it. Anyways, I hope you like this chapter, because it was originally really, really short, but I added a lot to it to make it funny. Sound fan girls make their entrance. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this fanfic.**

* * *

Chapter 5: Teasing Fun 

Sakura slept for a whole day after receiving the curse mark. Her fever was gone, but she would shiver at times and whimper in pain. The kunoichi's condition was considered unstable until Sakura was wake and she was fully functional.

Sasuke only trained in the morning then spent the rest of his time watching over Sakura. He didn't even know why he was neglecting his training time to care for the girl. Though it was peaceful, his thoughts kept going back to the things he and his inner talked about. Not only that, but his thoughts would wonder to an image of a naked Sakura.

The image was always vivid in his mind that he couldn't get the picture out of his mind. He saw himself touching her, his hands roaming all over her exposed body, even over forbidden territory. His fingers entwined with hers as he nipped at her fair ivory skin making her moan his name. Whenever Sasuke saw himself kiss the pink haired girl, he noticed they both enjoyed. Sasuke would always close his eyes to get rid of the image, but each time he opened them he would find himself above the young woman. Her emerald eyes would stare back at him, her cheeks would be flushed pink, and her cherry lips slightly parted and swollen.

It was like the images would keep on bothering him until her finally admits that he had feelings for the cherry blossom.

The next morning, Sakura woke up feeling nothing but pain. She had only recovered half of her chakra, but she didn't want to waste her strength. She saw that all her wounds were bandaged, even the wounds around her abdomen. Sakura sat up and saw she that she didn't have her shirt on, only the under garment that covered her breasts.

"You're awake," Sasuke uttered as he entered the room with a tray of food.

Sakura instantly grabbed the blanket to cover herself. Feeling exposed as a pair onyx eyes stared at her, she blushed a light shade of pink. Even though she was mature, she was somewhat embarrassed.

"You don't have to worry; I didn't do anything to you."

'_**But you wanted to!'**_ inner Sasuke said, but was ignored.

"I just treated your wounds." Sasuke placed the tray of food in front of Sakura then walked over to sit on the sofa. "You've slept a lot and haven't eaten anything for a day."

"Why are you treating me like this?" Sakura had to know. She took a piece of bread and started to chew it as she stared at Sasuke for his answer.

'_Because I care...'_ Sasuke stared back at Sakura with an emotionless face. "The snake needs you alive."

Sakura knew what he was going to answer, but wanted to ask anyways. She turned away from his gaze and hurried to finish her food. Sasuke just sat there and closed his eyes to think.

'_**Why didn't you tell her how you felt for her?'**_ Sasuke's inner yelled out. _**'You were given the chance to, but you blew it!'**_

'_I just couldn't get the words out of my mouth.'_

'_**You're a bad liar…you have to stop being a human ice cube and open up to her.'**_

'_You make it sound simple when it really isn't.'_

Several minutes later, there was a knock on the door.

"Orochimaru-sama requests Sasuke-sama and Sakura-sama meet him in the dojo right now," a Sound ninja said from behind the closed door.

Sasuke got up from his spot. "We'll be there."

"Hai!" The footsteps of the Sound ninja echoed as he left.

Sasuke looked over at Sakura as she got off the bed and put on her shirt. When she was done, he opened to door and had Sakura walk out first. He closed the door behind him and walked with Sakura following behind.

When they reached the dojo, Sakura wouldn't have never imagined the Sound ninjas training the way they did. Instead of sparing, it was more like they were fighting each other to the death.

'_**No wonder Sound has a low number of ninjas,'**_ inner Sakura said sarcastically._** 'They kill each when they're training!'**_

As she leaded against the wall nearest her waiting, Sasuke went to find Orochimaru. She wanted to think over what her feelings toward the traitor. Was it faith that they met again?

"You must be that Konoha bitch that Orochimaru-sama is fond of like Sasuke-sama," said one of the Sound kunoichis. Right behind her was a group of other Sound kunoichi. "I would stay away from our Sasuke-sama if you don't want to get hurt."

The one that spoke had long chocolate brown hair and tan skin. She wore a pair of shorts that barely covered half her thighs, strapped to her right thigh was her hoister, a sleeves shirt that showed off her stomach, and black sandals. The other Sound kunoichis wore the same clothing, but less revealing.

'_**Brainless fan girls…'**_ inner Sakura said as if gagging at the sight of them. _**'Look at their clothing! They look more like sluts than ninjas!'**_

Sakura looked up without giving a damn about the Sound kunoichis. They seemed to care more able their looks than their skills. Seeing how boring it was just waiting, Sakura decided to have some fun.

"What if I am? I don't see why he had chosen a bitch like me over all the rest of you Sound kunoichi." Sakura's voice was mocking the kunoichis in front of her. "Orochimaru said that my strength could probably match that of the Uchiha's."

The kunoichi that spoke to Sakura was flaring up. "If I defeated you, then Orochimaru-sama will see that I'm stronger than you and just as strong as Sasuke-sama." She drew out a kunai and threw it at Sakura.

Sakura didn't bother moving and let the kunai pierce her right arm where she was bandaged at.

The other Sound kunoichi were praising the kunoichi for her 'greatness'.

"Great shot Yen-chan."

"Yen-san is the strongest kunoichi in Sound."

"That Leaf kunoichi must be weak if she couldn't dodge that kunai."

Sakura pulled out the kunai with a smirk on her face. The cut wasn't deep or bleeding much. The kunai's penetration was equal to that of an academy student's.

'_**What a weakling!'**_ inner Sakura said. _**'It didn't cause any damage!'**_

"Is this all you can do?" Sakura said as she raised a brow. "I can see why Orochimaru isn't fond of you. You're weak and unfit to be a kunoichi." Sakura twirled the kunai on her index finger. "If you really want to prove that you're stronger than me, you would have come at me with the intent to kill. Only by killing me will you be justified to be stronger than me."

The Sound kunoichi, Yen, clenched her fist in anger. "You knew where I aimed the kunai before I threw it, didn't you?" Yen asked with a hit of anger in her voice. "Is that why you let it hit?"

"That doesn't matter." She stopped twirling the kunai and pointed it at Yen. "You are too easy to read to be a kunoichi. I suggest that you let Kabuto use you for his sick experiments." Sakura smirked. "Maybe with all those alterations will you be considered worthy to be a kunoichi?"

Yen couldn't take it any longer. "I don't care about what Orochimaru-sama thinks of me. All want is for Sasuke-sama to recognize me, but you're in the way!"

Sakura tilted her head to the side, innocently and began to twirl the kunai on her finger again. "And how is that?"

Sakura never thought that Sasuke would end up having fan girls when he was with Sound. Knowing what it was like as one, Sakura wanted to amuse herself with the Sound kunoichi even more.

"You're bunking with him!" The brunette yelled out. "Yesterday he only trained in the morning and spent the rest of the day locked in his room. No one saw you since you were brought to his room the day before yesterday. Who knows what you did to Sasuke-sama?"

'_**This is going to be fun,'**_ inner Sakura said evilly.

'_I agree with you!'_ Sakura thought.

"True." A sigh of amusement escape her lips. "He made things so much more interesting than I had expected, as my first." She licked her lips. "Being his first and all too, I never knew he tasted so good."

"You seduced him?!"

Sakura let out a short laugh then looked at Yen. "I might have. What are you going to do about it?"

The Sound kunoichis were speechless. Sakura had a smirk on her lips and her eyes showed that she was enjoying her fun. Her inner was clenching her stomach from laughing so hard at the Sound fan girls.

"How dare you taint yourself on Sasuke-sama?" Yen said with rage in every word.

"Too bad you can't change what has already been done." She ran a hand through her pink locks. "He promised that he would entertain me again tonight."

"I won't let you go near Sasuke-sama again!"

'_**If the girls (Ino, Hinata, and Tenten) were here, this would a blast!'**_ Sakura mentally agreed with her inner.

"You know, if it wasn't for Orochimaru, you would be killed by the hands of the Uchiha."

Sakura threw the kunai at the Sound kunoichi. Yen snapped out of her thoughts, took out another kunai and blocked the thrown kunai, but she and the other kunoichi failed to notice Sakura charging at them. Slowly, the curse mark began to spread, yet it didn't seem to bother Sakura. She was going to let her bottled up anger and frustration out at the targets in front of her. Picking up the kunai from the ground, Sakura was about to stab Yen on the shoulder, but another kunai stopped her.

Sasuke had a kunai in his hand, preventing Sakura from attacking her target. Both weren't using any chakra, it was all just physical strength. All the Sound kunoichis were shocked to see the person they most admire 'saving' one of their friends.

"You shouldn't waste you strength, Sakura." Sasuke stared deep into Sakura's emerald eyes with his nonchalant expression. "You have better things to do."

The pink haired kunoichi glared at the male. All the fan girls' eyes widen; they couldn't believe what Sasuke had just said. Sakura withdrew her attack and tossed the kunai at the wall. The impact of the kunai caused cracks to appear on the wall.

"Ah, you saved me Sasuke-sama, arigatou," said Yen stuttering trying to find the right words. "About that kunoichi-"

Sasuke looked at the Sound kunoichi with an evil glare, stopping her from finishing her sentence. "I would never save someone that got themselves into trouble. I just kept Sakura from causing any damage."

"Are we leaving or not Uchiha?!" Sakura spat out as she removed the bandages to rewrap it to stop her bleeding wound. "I don't have all day here."

"DON'T DARE TALK TO SASUKE-SAMA LIKE THAT!" Yen yelled at the top of her lungs.

Sakura's evil eyes glared at Yen. "Make me." A smirk grew on her lips as the Leaf ANBU tattoo was revealed.

'_That ANBU tattoo's real,'_ Sasuke thought to himself. _'So that was hidden under those bandages.'_

'_**I wonder what damage she would have caused if we didn't stop her?'**_ Sasuke inner asked.

'_Who knows?'_

The Sound kunoichis became frightened at the sight of Sakura. They saw the curse mark spreading more across her face and being a Leaf ANBU was adding to their fear. The group of kunoichis started to whisper among themselves.

"You shouldn't stay in that state for too long Sakura," Sasuke said, turning his back to the Sound fan girls. "You could lose control." Sakura clamed herself and let the curse mark recoil back. He saw her bit her cheek to keep herself from yelling out about the pain. "But you'll gain full control of it soon and the pain from it will subside."

Yen couldn't hold back her thoughts anymore. "THAT SLUT HAS THE CURSE MARK?!" Yen screamed out, pointing at Sakura. "SHE'S NOT EVEN A SOUND NINJA! WHAT GIVES HER THE RIGHT TO HAVE IT?!"

"If you were any smarter, you would have known that she was toying with you earlier." Sasuke insulted all the Sound kunoichis as he headed for Orochimaru with Sakura. "And you believed every word."

All the fan girls' eyes widen in shock. Sakura was teasing them and they assumed that it was all true. Sakura turned her head around slightly and couldn't help but snicker silently to herself.

"BUT YOU'RE SUPPOSE TO HELP YOUR COMRADES!" Yen screamed out.

Sasuke coldly answered, without turning to look at the tearing Yen. "Those whose strength doesn't stand a chance against mine aren't my comrades, especially fan girls."

Ignoring the love sick young women, Sasuke and Sakura left for the other end of the dojo to see Orochimaru.

"You should have ignored them, Sakura."

"And die of boredom?" Sakura said as she ran her hand through her hair. She waited for him to answer or at least say something, but Sasuke just stayed quiet. "You're an ass." Sasuke twitched from her remark. "I did it out of amusement and to test them as well. They're no better than the genins back at home."

When they reached him, Orochimaru had a wicked smile. He put up his right hand to signal some of the jounins to stop all the other ninjas and leave the dojo.

"Why Sakura-chan, it seems like you had some fun with that curse mark." Orochimaru's voice was filled with pleasure. "All I need now is for you to harness its full strength."

"And if I decline your offer?"

A smile formed on his lips. "Then we have no other choice but to force you, Sakura-chan. Just like the last time. There's always the use of the potion too."

'_**They don't seem to know what giving up means!'**_ inner Sakura said. _**'Do we have to give them a dictionary so that they can understand what we're saying?!"**_

'_This is a freaking pain in the ass.'_

'_**Maybe you can use the curse seal to do research on it. You never know, you might find a cure for it.'**_

Sakura agreed with her inner; she could find a way to remove the curse and maybe do the same for Sasuke if he wanted it. If she was unable to find a cure, then maybe Konoha could benefit be gaining more information about so to be prepared if Orochimaru ever tried to attack the village again.

"So what will it be Sakura-chan?"

Sakura took in a deep breath; she had to stay strong. "Seeing that I already have the freaking curse mark, I don't have any other choice." Sakura's voice was emotionless. "What the hell do I have to do?"

Kabuto came in with a huge barrel and placed it in front of Sakura. Orochimaru took out a small bottle from his sleeve and tossed it over to Sakura. She caught it and saw that inside the bottle was a small round black pill. She looked over at Orochimaru with a questioned face.

"Just sallow that and we'll handle the rest Sakura-chan," Orochimaru said with a creepy grin. "You don't have to worry about anything; we won't let anything happen to you."

What the sannin last said worried her, especially the way he said it. Then again, Orochimaru wouldn't let her die because she was needed to accomplish the sannin's goals. Either way, the pink haired kunoichi was taking a risk.

Sakura took out the pills and swallowed it without hesitation. She began to feel pain throughout her body as she clenched her hand where her heart was. She felt like a thousand needles were stabbing her heart. As she fell unconscious and her body slowly began to collapse to the side. Sasuke caught her before hitting the ground. She was almost lifeless, no warmth in her body at all.

He slowly placed her in the barrel and then closed it afterwards. The sannin made several hand signs and seal tags appeared around the barrel.

"Sasuke-kun, you know what you have to do now," Orochimaru said pleased with the way things turned out. "And don't forget about your mission."

Sasuke took the barrel and swung it behind his back as he headed out. After walking for some time, he reached the doors that lead out to an open area. When the two ninjas standing guard there saw Sasuke, one handed him two backpacks and the other opened the doors to let him through.

—xXx—

The sun was beginning to set as Sasuke reached an open field. He gently placed the barrel down and went over to the river to get a drink. When he was done, he sat against a tree with the two packs at his side.

As he closed his eyes to rest, he felt a strong chakra presence. Sasuke looked over at the barrel and saw that it began to crack. Black smoke was coming through the cracks of the wood. Suddenly the barrel exploded and the debris was sent flaying, scatted in different directions. All that was left was Sakura, consumed by the curse mark. Her appearance was completely different. He stood up and walked over to Sakura to get a better look of her.

'_**Shit, she still looks freaking hot in that form!'**_ Sasuke's inner said after a whistle.

Her skin tone was a light chocolate brown and her eyes were golden instead of her normal emerald green. Sakura's short pink hair was now long and a dark crimson red and her fingers were more like claws. Her once cherry lips were now a dark blue, almost black. A small amount of smoke was emitting from the wounds she had. It was healing on its own under the bandage, without her doing anything.

She felt powered surging throughout her body. Sakura brought her hand up to see what she has become, but an edging pain caused the seal to leave her body, changing her back to her normal appearance.

"That's your true form when you fully release the power of the seal." Sakura looked up and saw Sasuke staring right at her. "Staying like that for too long will only drain your energy, even kill you."

He went over to get the bags and tossed the one that belonged to Sakura to her.

"Aren't we going back?" Sakura position the backpack on her back. The Uchiha didn't say anything to the girl. "Has Orochimaru ordered us to do something?"

"Aa..."

Sakura inwardly smiled a sly smile; this was the perfect opportunity to try to escape.

"Don't think about trying to run."

'_Damn! How does he know?'_

"You'll regret it if you do," he said in a cold tone.

Sakura clenched her fist. "What are you planning to do?" she questioned. "Knock me unconscious so you can go on completing a mission without me around to burden you," she said in an equally cold tone.

The male slightly turned his gaze toward her with his Sharingan active. Those crimson eyes of his were spinning slowly. She admittedly knew it was bad if he was using his Sharingan.

He turned his gaze gale away and let the crimson eyes turn back to the onyx orbs. "We'll head over to the nearby town to stay for the night."

She had no other choice but to go with him. Both jumped, leaving the fields to start their mission.

* * *

**Well that's the end of this chapter. It took me a while to think what Sakura would look like when she was consumed by the curse seal. Gomen if it didn't sound very good, at least I tried. Please review. Thank you.**

**AUTHOR NOTE: This chapter has been revised.**


	6. Chap 6: A Kiss

**Konichiwa minna-san. Arigatou for all the great reviews. **

**Anyways, there have been questions about the mission Sakura and the gang had in the beginning of Chapter 1. I shall clear things up now. It was a C-rank escort mission and Sakura got hurt a little from a bandit ambush. She decided to heal herself after the mission when she returned to Konoha, since it wasn't serious or life threatening. Gomen for not informing you in the beginning of the first chapter, but I didn't want to drag it. **

**Gomen for any possible errors. There's a lot of fluff in this chapter…hehe. Enjoy reading. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this fanfic. **

* * *

Chapter 6: A Kiss

Sasuke and Sakura had been jumping from branch to branch for a while until they came to an open road. When the forest was becoming less dense did they jump out to start walking on the road. After a short distance on the road, a village's lights became visible from a distance.

Sakura didn't pay attention to what was ahead and just stared up at the vast dark sky, daydreaming. She was confused about the way Sasuke acted toward her. He was kind to her then cold then suddenly kind again; it was like he has a split personality. She let out a soft sigh, things were so confusing.

Her thoughts then wondered to Konoha. She was concern about the reactions of certain people that would be informed about her kidnapping. Then again, certain types of news involving ninjas always got out to the entire village.

_'I hope everyone is alright, especially Naruto.' _

**_'Knowing him, he would be bothering shishou to no end about getting you and the 'Sasuke-teme' back to Konoha.' _**

_'Ever since team seven formed, we became a family. Naruto is like an older brother to me.' _

"Sakura, take off your Leaf headband."

She was snapped back into reality. "Why? Is it bothering you?" Sakura asked mocking Sasuke.

"Do you prefer to be a target?"

Irritated by his calm manner, Sakura pulled off her headband and stuffed it into her backpack. She mumbled a string of curses at the male for being a pain in the ass. When put her headband away, she felt some extra things in her back. She swung her bag around to look at the contents inside her bag. She saw that all her things from when she was kidnapped were there, along with some other medical stuff the Sound ninjas put in.

As they neared the village, there were all sorts of noises emitting from the place. People screaming, treats, laughter, it was like the village was full of insane people. Why wouldn't there be? This village had no form of order and it was a rest stop for those that pass by.

"Gezz, it's like the place is run by Naruto," Sakura blurred out. She saw Sasuke clench his fist when she mentioned Naruto's name. She cast her head down. "Gomen."

Sasuke stopped in front of Sakura and looked at her. "What are you apologizing for?"

"I just mentioned something from your pass that you cast away…."

She didn't even bother looking at his face and walked into him. She stepped back and kept her gaze on the ground below her, wanting to avoid any eye contact with him.

Sasuke browse Sakura's expression. "You really think I'm that cold hearted?" His voice was calm and smoothing.

"I don't understand you Sasuke." Sakura looked up to face him and her voice was more confident now. "You're a vicious S-class criminal, yet I can't get over the fact that you can be warm too. You're a complete mystery Sasuke-kun."

The moment the suffix 'kun' was uttered out, Sakura clapped a hand to her mouth, realizing she just called him _'Sasuke-kun'_. A slight blush appeared on her cheeks.

Sasuke let a smirk across his face. "To think the fan girl side of you had disappeared forever."

_'Damn him and his arrogance!' _

**_'You know you like that sexy smirk of his!'_** inner Sakura said.

_'Shut up!' _

Sakura walked pass Sasuke, blushing lightly from his remark. "It was only a one time mistake, _Uchiha_! I'm not that dumb weak fan girl anymore."

"Really now?" Sasuke questioned as he turned to look at the young woman.

She didn't say anything to answer his questions and walked ahead. Sasuke caught up to the slightly annoyed woman and did the unexpected.

He wrapped his strong lean arms around her waist and pulled her into his chest. Sakura admittedly tensed at his touch and couldn't help but shiver slight at the cold breath against her neck.

"It always sounded better when _you_ called me Sasuke-kun," he whispered hotly.

Sakura's cheeks blushed a bright pink.

**_'Is this the same human ice cube Sasuke we know?'_** inner Sakura yelled out in shock.

_'This can't be happening to me! Come on Sakura wake up! This is just some bad dream!' _

Sakura tried to loosen Sasuke's grip around her waist. "Let go, Sasuke." Sakura muttered the words several more times, embarrassed as her cheeks grew redder by the second.

Sasuke was a lot stronger than Sakura that it was difficult for her to get free. Each time she struggled, his grip would tighten and Sakura would be tugged in more to his chest.

"What if I don't want to?" Sasuke whispered hotly into her ear making Sakura blush even more. "You don't have anything against that do you Sa-ku-ra."

_'I can't get free!' _

**_'YOU'RE BLUSHING!'_** inner Sakura was doing a victory dance. **_'I told you that you still had feelings for him!' _**

_'SHUT UP!'_

A cheerless elderly couple was walking up the road and saw the two. Their faces lighted up at the sight of the two 'love birds'. "What a loving boyfriend you have there. Doesn't it remind you of us when we were young, dear?" The elderly man nodded with a smile on his face and the two walked on.

Sasuke finally released Sakura from his tight grip and she trailed toward the city, her face still red from embarrassment. She felt her face was burning up and still getting redder. Her feelings were beginning to confuse her; what were her true feelings toward the Uchiha? She didn't understand why, but part of her felt safe in his arms, like everything would be alright.

_'What the hell just happen?' _Sakura yelled out to her inner._ 'That was totally uncalled for and not like the Uchiha Sasuke I knew!'_

**_'You think he's on drugs?'_** inner Sakura asked in a worry yet joking tone. **_'Who knows what they've been putting in his food. Or maybe he hit his head real hard.'_**

Sasuke was a few steps behind the pink hair woman talking to his inner as well. He was taken back from his own actions.

_'Why the hell did I just do that?'_ Sasuke was confused at his own actions. _'That is not how an Uchiha acts!'_ He ran his hand through his _wild raven hair. 'What the hell is going on with me?' _

**_'It's because you don't want to admit you love her!'_** Sasuke's inner thought yelled out. **_'First you're caring when alone with her next you start thinking dirty thoughts about her. And now you want to hold her in your arms?' _**

_'You're the one that brought her up in the first place,' Sasuke argued back at his inner. _

**_'But it's not my fault,'_** his inner said.**_ 'What's your next course of action? Are you going to rip her clothes off in public and rape her in some dark alley?' _**

_'Shut up! It was you who was thinking of those dirty thoughts and you still are!'_

When they reached the village, Sakura's thoughts were exact. The place was more chaotic than what they thought it to be, couples making out in public, fights at almost every corner, robbers running, prostitutes trying to seduce every man that passed them. It was a good thing that this village was more of a rest stop than an actual livable place.

Each alley way either had some fight going on or some couple making out to the point where they would be roaming each other's body. Thieves would try to steal or mug people on the streets or stores to get what they wanted. The prostitutes raged from different ages, some of which were maybe as young as fourteen to those that were in their forties. They would try to seduce the males that passed buy them and didn't care what their age was.

Sasuke and Sakura walked side by side and didn't let their guard down. Though it didn't seem like it, they were secretly watching out for one another. A thief was about to raid them, but Sasuke's cold glare and kunai in hand scared the guy away. Perverts on the street were eyeing Sakura like an item, whistling at her, undressing her with their eyes, trying to hit on her. Most kept their distance because Sasuke was right next to her with a kunai ready in hand.

_'Can't these perverts stop eyeing me? Their eyes are full with lust and it's creeping me out!' _

**_'Just ignore them!' _**

She got fed up with it that she started to kick the pebbles at the people, sending them flying a few feet. Each time it hit, the pink haired girl would act innocent and continue walking. After awhile, people ignored the two ninjas to avoid causing any trouble with them.

While Sakura was looking about the place, she suddenly felt like she was clasped between things. When she looked up, Sasuke had pinned her against a wall and was pressing his body dangerously close to hers. He put up his left elbow, resting his forearm against the wall to cover their faces on one side and looked over at the other side. Their faces were inches apart of each others that they could feel each other's breath upon their skin. His right leg was between her legs and rubbed against her thighs. Sakura's forearms and slender finger touched his toned bare chest. Sasuke's free hand was close to her waist, but not touching her.

**_'So you were planning on raping her!'_** Sasuke's inner hollered. **_'That's why you brought her to his village!' _**

_'Shut the hell up and pay attention to what's happening around, not on your dirty thoughts.' _

Sakura was blushing for her body was tremendously close to his and the way they were positioned wasn't helping her clam down one bit. Oh what his fan girls would give to be in Sakura's place.

_'Not again! Tell me this is a dream and just some silly joke of Naruto's! I would even believe if Kakashi-sensei was using genjutsu on me!' _

**_'Unfortunately it isn't.' _**

_'Would he actually following Orochimaru's plan and rape me to impregnate me?' _Sakura began to inwardly panic. _'No I don't want my first time to be like this!' _

**_'Fight him off!'_** inner Sakura yelled. **_'Let me out so I can kick his ass!' _**

"What are you doing Sasuke?" Sakura asked nervously, trying her best not to stutter.

"Quite!" Sasuke whispered harshly. "It seems some ninjas are looking for us. Lower your chakra presence."

Sakura did what she was told and lowered her chakra's presence. She felt Sasuke doing the same as he kept his eyes locked at a group of people. With his free hand, the Uchiha brought Sakura's left arm around his neck to cover up the small Uchiha symbol on the back of the haori. She didn't protest and let the male do what was necessary to keep themselves from being discovered.

It wasn't unusual because there were other couples around that had gone further and slipped into the alleys to complete what they were doing. The raven haired man pushed his body closer to the young woman and placed his free hand on her hip, making it seem like they were very intimate with one another. Sakura blushed even darker when she felt his member rub against her lower abdomen thought the cloth of their clothing.

Not wanting to think about it, Sakura averted her gaze away from the Uchiha and in the direction where the male was looking at. She wasn't sure what he was looking at until she spotted a small group of ninjas. She squint her eyes slightly to try to see what the engraving on the headband was and noticed that they were from the Village Hidden in the Grass.

"We can't let them get their hands on it! Both ninjas are rumored to be stronger than the Leaf's legendary sannins. AND THEY'RE ONLY TEENAGERS!"

"Impossible! No one could master that much power at such a young age!"

"We better hurry or they're going to find the scroll."

They kept on discussing more about the two ninjas that were after them saying it was impossible and absurd for anyone to be that strong. Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly at the group; he wanted to get the mission over with. One of the Grass ninjas felt a strange chakra presence ahead and looked in the direction of Sasuke and Sakura. Not wanting to look suspicious, Sasuke suddenly slammed his lips against Sakura's.

Inner Sakura and inner Sasuke were having a party! Sasuke had made a move on Sakura! Or at least that's what they thought.

Sakura's eyes widen in shock; she couldn't believe what was happening. They could have done something else to avoid suspicion, but he just had to choose to kiss her and steal her first kiss. How was she supposed to react to a sudden kiss from Uchiha Sasuke?

She stared into his calm onyx orbs and for once, Sakura saw that his eyes were affectionate. She was debating whether to return the kiss or not. She felt Sasuke giving her a light squeeze on her hip as if indicating that it was alright. She closed her eyes and leaned into his body, returning the kiss. Her stomach felt like it was full of butterflies; this is not what she had expected to happen when with Sasuke. Slowly Sakura brought her other arm around his neck as his right arm wrapped itself around her waist. Their kiss was passionate and warm, even though Sasuke intended it to be an act to draw away the Grass ninjas, he truly did enjoy it. Sakura's body began to grow weak as their kiss lingered on; she was lucky enough to be sandwich between a wall and the male.

The Grass ninja that looked in their direction ignored the two and looked to see where the strong chakra presence came from. He admittedly assumed that Sasuke and Sakura were just some couple making out on the streets. Unable to find the source, the Grass ninja stopped and left with his comrades.

When Sasuke and Sakura finally parted, they were both panting for air as the Uchiha stood back a little from the pink haired girl. He stared down at his former teammate and saw her face flushed a light pink, her cherry lips semi swollen, and her eyes were half lidded as if she was in a daze. Sasuke had his usual plain emotionless expression, but there was a slight pink blush visible on his cheeks.

_'Words can't describe what I just felt,' _both thought to themselves.

When they finally gained their composure, Sasuke moved away from the girl, removing his arms from her and letting her own arms slid off his shoulders. Sakura avoided eye contact with the Uchiha, and kept her gaze down on the ground.

"Let's go," he said and took hold of her hand.

Sasuke held on to her and they walked hand in hand to a vacant hotel.

—xXx—

Off all the inns in town, there was only one with a vacancy. They were lucky enough to get the room or they would either have to sleep out in the woods or continue traveling. Unfortunately, the room they rented wasn't all that pleasant; it was small and run downed but it was at least livable for the time being. There was only one bed that was barely large enough for two people, an old looking sofa, raggedy curtains covering the cracked window, and a bathroom that didn't have a door.

"You should go shower first," Sasuke ordered Sakura. She reacted to his word with a glare her face flushed. "No need to worry, I'm that kind of a person."

**_'Yeah right,'_** Sasuke's inner said sarcastically.

Sakura set her things aside and quickly healed whatever wounds she had with her chakra then went to shower. She removed her kunai holder and pouch, setting it on top of her backpack. She removed her red shirt and let it on top of her things and heading in to the bathroom. Not wanting to strip down without any privacy, she stepped into the shower and pulled the white shower currants to conceal herself. Striping her clothes off, she tossed them aside in a pile to gather together later. She turned on the water and let the warm water pound on her body as she relaxed. Sakura brought her hand up to her lips, the lips that had touched Sasuke's.

_'That was my first kiss….' _

**_'I bet he really likes you to want to kiss you and let it last pretty long.' _**

_'No, it can't be. He probably did that so not to look suspicious.' _

**_'I would say he loves you.' _**Inner Sakura hoped that was the reason. **_'If he didn't want things to look suspicious, he could have chosen to do something else." _**

_'You're just saying that to make me feel better.'_

**_'But it's true! Knowing that human ice cube, he would have pulled away after a few seconds!' _**

_'Maybe he let it linger to draw attention away from us; I mean the place practically has people just making out on the streets as if it was normal. He has no feeling for me and never will.' _

**_'Stop denying that he may have feeling for you!' _**

_'I don't know what to think now.'_ Sakura clenched her fists where her heart was. _'I do love him, but it's impossible for him to feel that way toward me.' _

**_'You could be wrong you know?' _**

_'Whatever. I don't want to talk about this anymore.' _

Sakura rinsed her body with the water, her hands slowly rubbing her skin, her eyes lost in a daze. When she was done, Sakura turned off the water and grabbed one of the towels on the rack to dry her body with. She then wrapped it around body, walked out of the shower, and gathered her clothes in her arm. She came out and didn't pay attention to where she was going, only to bump into Sasuke. When she met his gaze, admittedly her face flushed pink for that he was shirtless and she was only in a towel that barely covered her figure. He just stared back at her blankly, not caring that he she was semi wet and half naked. She bit her lower lips to control herself from screaming out.

**_'Prepare for a nose bleed!'_** inner Sasuke exclaimed.

He smirked and he put his haori around Sakura's shoulders to cover her up. "You'll catch a cold if you don't dress yourself." Sasuke kissed her gently on her forehead and when to shower.

Sakura was speechless. Was Uchiha Sasuke concerned about her?

**_'For a second there, I thought he was going to rape you,'_** inner Sakura said after a sigh. **_'At least we know that he can be caring.' _**

When she heard the water running, Sakura couldn't help up let a smile grow on her face. _'Maybe I am wrong about him after all.' _

She hurried to get dressed before Sasuke finished. She didn't bother putting on her shirt because of all the stains. Sakura just wore the garment that coved her breast and the net like cloth to keep her upper body warm.

She felt tired, thinking that it was because of the curse seal and decided to go to bed. She placed Sasuke's white haori neatly on the bed where he would be able to get it then fell asleep peacefully, dreaming.

As the water splashed on his face, Sasuke couldn't help but think about the kiss he had shared with Sakura. She willing let his lips touch hers and didn't push him away. He saw that she was shocked, but she still returned the kiss.

**_'She must still love you if she didn't push you way.' _**

_'I doubt that that's the reason.' _

**_'The kiss lasted for quite a while, and that seems the most reasonable answer to her action.' _**

_'I still think she hates me. You've seen her behavior around me.' _

**_'Maybe she's pushing herself to hate you so she won't end up hurt. I mean you do make her cry a lot. The only way that she will truly understand you is if you tell her.' _**

Sasuke agreed with his inner self and decided that it was time he told Sakura what his feelings toward her could be. There was no one there to interrupt, and he didn't have to drag it any longer. Turning off the water, he hurried to get dressed and got out of the bathroom.

"Sakura?" he called out.

Sasuke walked out, shirtless. He looked over at the bed and saw Sakura sleeping calmly. He took his haori from the bed and draped it over her body to keep her warm, taking the small thin blanket for himself.

"Sleep tight."

Sasuke placed a light kiss on her forehead then went over to the couch, laying there for a while. He stared up at the plain ceiling and turned his gaze toward the peaceful kunoichi a few times, making sure she was at ease.

**_'She must be drained from receiving the curse mark's power in such a short time.' _**

_'Aa…It's a good thing that she's strong and capable of controlling the power. If not, who knows what that bastard Orochimaru would do to her?' _

**_'I agree. Let us hope that you can tell her your feelings before the mission is over.' _**

Sasuke agreed with his inner. Sasuke turned his head to the bed and stared at the sleeping form of Sakura. She was so pure and innocent Thoughts of the pinked haired kunoichi were on his mind before he fell asleep, happy for once.

* * *

**That's the end for Chapter 6. Please review. Thank you. **

**AUTHOR NOTE: This chapter has been revised. **


	7. Chap 7: Feelings and Truth

**Konichiwa minna-san! Arigatou to all of those who reviewed. Gomen for any possible errors. For this chapter, I feel that it's kind of plain with fluff. Hope you enjoy reading.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this fanfic.**

* * *

Chapter 7: Feelings and Truth

Back in Konoha, everyone was reacting differently to the news of the new sannins. It was difficult to keep news revolving around ninjas away from others ears. Most of the villagers shunned Naruto because of his relation to Sasuke and Sakura. To him, it was like he was living his childhood again, yet it was different in some perspective. This time he was looked at as if he was a criminal, not just the boy that has a demon sealed within him. Instead of Naruto begging Tsunade for the mission to bring Sakura back, it was Ino, Hinata, Tenten, and Rock Lee. There were a few visits where the whole gang was there, excluding Naruto, but it didn't convince the Godaime.

Even though they weren't ordered to, the ANBU squads were patrolling the village more often. More members of the ANBU squad were out in the shadows, watching for anything suspicious. They were mainly looking for any spies from Oto among the villagers. The assumption that Orochimaru was going to launch another attack on the village kept the ANBU squads busy; the elders influenced the idea that they needed to be fully prepared so what happened when the Sandaime wasn't going to happen again.

Naruto was depressed more than ever that he kept himself locked in his apartment, unwilling to see anyone but his closes friends and certain adults. Neji, Kiba, Shikamaru, and Chouji did what they could to try to get him out of the house, but they were always unsuccessful. Every night, Iruka would bring dinner to Naruto from his favorite place, but the blond would only eat one bowl.

"Naruto, do you want to talk?" Iruka finally asked as he placed his empty bowl in the sink.

Naruto didn't answer and just stared blankly down at his empty bowl of ramen. His shoulders were slumped down, but he didn't slouch. Iruka let a sigh escape before continuing.

"Naruto it's bad for your health if you keep your feeling bottled up. I'm here to-"

Naruto cut him off before he could finish his sentence.

"I feel so alone again, Iruka-sensei." He looked up at Iruka with gloomy eyes. His bright blue eyes lost their shine and happiness. "I'm despised by the villagers again and my family is torn to pieces." He turned his gaze over to the picture of team seven. "When team seven formed, the three of us began close, even though we had fights and arguments all the time." A sad smile made its way across his face. "I would always try to beat Sasuke at everything, just like a little brother would always try to surpass his older brother. I promise to protect Sakura-chan no matter what, like a brother would do for his younger sister."

Iruka stood behind him, placing his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I know how you feel Naruto. They'll come back one day."

* * *

The next morning, the sun rose and its ray of light passed through the window's curtains, hitting Sakura's eyes directly. She woke up to a new day, feeling a bit refreshed from the sleep she got, just the only difference was she wasn't back in Konoha. She sat up and saw that she had used Sasuke's haori as a blanket. She remembered setting the piece of clothing aside and assumed that the Uchiha must have draped it over her when she was asleep. Sakura held it close to her chest, taking in his scent before getting off the bed. She went over to the bathroom to splash her face with water and wash up. As Sakura walked out, she noticed that Sasuke wasn't around, but his pack and sword was over by the sofa. Footsteps were heard heading toward the door. She quickly grabbed a kunai as a young man entered the room.

"It's only me," he said monotone.

Puffs of smoke engulfed the body and revealed Sasuke. He had used the transformation jutsu in order to go out and buy some things without drawing any unwanted eyes. Sakura put the kunai down as Sasuke closed the door. He was holding a bag that contained some clothing they were going to need for their mission.

"Change into these," Sasuke said then tossed some clothing to Sakura.

"What are these for?"

"If you want to go out naked, go ahead," Sasuke said, unaffected by his own words.

'_**You would love that, wouldn't you?'**_ Sasuke's inner asked, snickering.

Sakura glared at Sasuke as he pulled out another set of clothing for himself. There was a slight blush on her cheeks as she watched the Uchiha remove the white haori. She needed to get a hold of herself if she wanted to show she wasn't a fan girl.

"Our mission is to acquire a scroll that's in the Grass Hidden Village. We can't draw any attention to ourselves. The only time that we might is when we're attacking."

Sakura snapped out of the daze she was in. "That's going to be a problem, especially with my pink hair," Sakura said as she pointed to her hair.

Sasuke tossed a small box to her. It was aimed at her head and she caught it in time before the box hit her. When she looked at it, it was a box of washable black hair dye.

"That should solve your problem," he said emotionlessly as he began to untie the purple stash around his waist.

'_**He's an ass!'**_ inner Sakura yelled out angrily. _**'What happened to the caring side of him?'**_

Sakura went into to the bathroom and started to dye her hair. She first rinsed her hair with warm water then began to apply the dye. It wasn't that difficult to dye her hair, it only took a few minutes. When done, she looked that the clothing and to her surprise, it was to her liking. There was a light pink kimono like top that reached her knees, a pair of dark pants, and a pair of thin white sleeve warmers. There was also an obi like garment that was to be tied around her waist and matched the pink top perfectly. She took her time putting on the clothes, admiring the designs on it. When she finished changing, to her astonishment, the clothes fit her perfectly.

'_**He sure does have good taste when it came to picking out your clothing.'**_

'_Yeah...'_

Sakura stepped out of the restroom and saw Sasuke lying on the bed with his eyes closed his facial expression calm. His arms were behind his head as he lay down. His clothes were exactly the same as the one he always wore, but he didn't have the purple stash around his waist. The piece of clothing that he usually wore with his pants wasn't there and the haori he wore was navy blue and didn't reveal his tone chest.

She couldn't help but wonder when the last time she saw the Uchiha like that was. He seemed at peace, as if there wasn't anything wrong in the world. A small smiled made its way across her lips, she wished she could see him like that more often.

He felt her chakra presence near and sat up, opening his eyes.

"Let's go."

Sasuke grabbed their packs and tossed Sakura's to her. Neither of them had their weapon pouch or holders out; they were all put away in their packs. The only thing that Sasuke had in hand was his sword, Kusanagi. They headed out of the run down inn, leaving no trace of ever being there.

The streets were less chaotic in the day, but there were still problems around. There were thieves that tried several attempts to rob them, but were unsuccessful. Perverts were still starting at Sakura with lust filled eyes.

'_Good thing I didn't think of choosing something revealing for Sakura,'_ Sasuke thought to himself.

They reached the border area of the town and there was a small group of people gathering on a wagon that was heading toward the Grass Village.

"Is the young couple heading to the Grass Village?" a man asked Sasuke and Sakura.

"We're not-" Sakura was cut off when she felt something around her waist.

"Ah," Sasuke nodded and pulled Sakura close to him. Her cheeks started to blush a light pink. "We've been traveling for a long time and plan to return home."

"Get on, we're all heading there," the man said, pointing to the wagon full of people.

Sasuke gave a little bow and went over to the wagon. Sakura was confused; why did they have to act like a couple? They could have act like cousins or siblings instead of a couple. Slowly removing his arm from her waist, he brought it around her shoulder and drew her head close to his.

"Just play along," Sasuke whispered softly into her ear. She blushed a light pink and tensed slight when his breathed into her ear slightly. "We can avoid any suspicious this way."

They sat close to one another and Sasuke still had his arm over her shoulder. There were several signal males around them, all looking the pink haired girl. Some were licking their lips with a visible boner was growing. Sakura felt uncomfortable and moved closer to the Uchiha. He noticed they way she was acting and admittedly knew it wall because of the stares. Heck, he was slightly uncomfortable from the stares the women gave him, some of which were probably old enough to be his mother or grandmother.

He slid his hand down her arm to her waist and dug his face into her hair. "Just keep playing along and we don't have to worry about being separated," he whispered loud enough so Sakura was the only one that heard what he said.

Sakura moved her left arm so that her hand touched his hand that was at her waist. She gently rubbed her thumb over his knuckles, indicating she understood. Sasuke moved his head down to her neck. He needed to do something to her so their false relationship looked official. The Uchiha smirked to himself, what better way was there than giving her a visible mark in public. It would be more than enough proof to show people their relationship was official.

Sakura didn't know what the Uchiha was planning to do or doing, but she knew she wasn't going to like it one bit. She wanted to push him away, but then their act would be foiled. All she could so at the moment was to play along with the Sharingan user.

She leaned her head slightly toward him with her eyes half lidded, making it look like they were being very intimate. Sasuke assumed that the cherry blossom knew what he was going to do and smirked. He felt her tense slightly when his lips brushed against her skin. The moment his tongue came in contact with her skin, the young woman blushed darker.

Some people turned away, fearing of what would happen between the two. Sasuke nibbled on her skin at the side of her neck for a short while before withdrawing back to look at the mark.

'_**Does that mark mean you officially claim Sakura as your own?'**_ his inner asked.

'_No it's the only way to make it thing seem real between us.'_

'_**Ah huh…don't deny it. You want her all for yourself.'**_

Where the mark was placed was perfect, visible from a distant to show that the pink haired girl was off limits.

Sakura bit down lightly on her lips as her right hand reached up to touch the mark Sasuke had just given her. Her fingers grazed over it and she felt that it was warm and a bit moist still.

'_If this is what Sasuke met by playing along, then I won't hesitate.'_

With a small shy smile on her lips, Sakura leaned into his body. Assuming that this was her own act to draw away people's suspicion, he didn't push her away. She felt the warmth of his body and couldn't help lay her head against his shoulder. There was a slight blush on her cheeks as she closed her eyes, hoping that the Uchiha wouldn't push her away. Sakura soon fell asleep within Sasuke's arms and he didn't mind.

Everyone turned their sadden eyes away, the two were taken by each other, or so they thought.

The young raven haired man turned his glaze down at the pink haired kunoichi and couldn't help but like the warm feeling he felt inside of him. Just spending a small amount of time with Sakura had changed Sasuke. Apart of him wanted to end the bond he had with her, yet he didn't want the unnatural warm feeling to go away.

'_I want this to last forever.'_

Sasuke rested his head against Sakura's and drew her closer to him.

'_**If you do the right thing, she could be at your side always.'**_

'_If only things were that simple, then I wouldn't have to worry about her so much.'_

Sakura stayed asleep for the rest of the journey to the Grass Village. Sasuke stayed the way he was, thinking over his confused feelings and thoughts.

—xXx—

"Sakura, wake up." Sasuke was gently shaking Sakura. "We're almost there."

Sakura slowly opened her eyes and stretched her stiff muscles a bit. Sasuke removed his arm around her waist and stood up, heading over to the driver.

"My apologies sir, but my girlfriend and I were supposed to get off earlier to meet a friend," Sasuke said, talking in a calm manner. Sakura had a slight blush on her cheeks from hearing what Sasuke had referred her as. "So we'll be jumping off from here."

"No problem," said the man driving the wagon. "You two have a safe trip."

Sasuke took Sakura's hand and they both took off, toward the woods. It wasn't as dense as the forest area in Konoha and Oto, but it concealed everything within. When they were in deep enough, they stopped to rest.

Sasuke released his hold on her hand and sat down. He placed his pack aside to rest his back against a tree. Sakura set her own things down slowly, as mind and body slightly in a daze. Sakura wanted to ask him about the kiss they had shared. She stood away from him and evaded his eye contact by looking at the ground.

"We're going to rest here. We strike at midnight."

"Umm, Sasuke…" she said in a low voice, as in a whisper. "About what happened back at the town, it didn't mean anything right?"

Sasuke stood up and walked over to Sakura. When she saw him approaching her, the pink haired girl moved back. Sakura took a step back for each step Sasuke took toward her. She soon backed up against a tree with Sasuke right in front of her, their body a foot away from each other. Whichever way she chose to try to escape, the Uchiha was bound to catch her easily. Sakura's body was trembling in fear hoping that he wouldn't harm her in anyway.

"Do you really detest me?"

Sasuke's voice was stern and a bit frightening, but his eyes showed that he was slightly worried. She didn't know whether or not to answer. Yes she did detest him, but yet at the same time she loved him. How was she supposed to answer him?

She suffered with her feelings for so long, unwilling to open up very much because she was afraid of getting hurt again. She hated to go through this sort of mental pain; it took way too long to heal this kind of a wound. In a way, Uchiha Sasuke was the one that had started it all.

"Answer me Sakura," he ordered.

Sakura clenched her fist tightly to the point her knuckles began to turn white and bit her lower lips, drawing a bit of blood. She didn't want to look weak in the eyes of the Uchiha, but she felt like the act she was putting up was finally breaking. He saw right through the wall she had placed up around her emotions, around her heart.

'_**Just tell him. Don't keep it bottle up any longer.'**_

Sakura avoid his onyx eyes and spoke. "I wish I did despise you, just like you despise me. I spent so many years trying to get myself to hate you for what you did to Konoha, for what you did to _me_, but I couldn't bring myself to do so." Tears started to accumulate in her eyes and threatened to fall. Her hands reached up to where her heart was, clenching on to her shirt. "You're always in my heart whenever I try to get thoughts of you out of my mind. I can _never_ hate you Uchiha Sasuke, no matter how hard I try. My heart won't let go of you, I love you yet you can't return those feelings."

She closed her eyes, trying to stop the tears from flowing out. Some tears fell from her eyes and down her smooth light skin. He placed right his hand under her chin to bring her head up to meet his gaze. She slightly opened her teary eyes. His hand slid to the side of her face and whipped away the fallen tears. Sasuke brought his head close to hers and stared into her emerald eyes then placed his lips against Sakura's.

She was completely shocked by his sudden gentle gesture. Sasuke was always cold toward her and just moments ago, he was whipping her tears away and now he was kissing her. He withdrew from the kiss and stared into her eyes.

'_**Here's your chance to tell her. If you don't it now, you'll regret it later.'**_

"After all I've done to you, after all the pain I've caused you; you're still the annoying girl I know that cares for me, like no other." He placed his forehead against hers. "It means a lot to me Sakura and…I, I care about you too. I don't want to see you hurt anymore."

Sasuke removed his hand away from her face and encircled Sakura with his lean strong arms. Once again he brought his lips to hers. As he deepened the kiss, her arms drew themselves around his neck, pulling him closer to her. Sasuke licked her lips to be granted entrance, but Sakura was hesitating and debated what to do in her mind. His gentle nudge from his tongue convinced her to open her mouth just for him.

She parted her lips slowly as his tongue entered the cavern of her mouth. Sakura felt her body weakening in the arms of the boy, no, in the arms of the man she loved. Her legs were melting away that if it wasn't for the Uchiha holding on to her in his arms she would have fallen. They tasted each other in their passionate gentle kiss.

When he broke the kiss, their lungs were screeching for air from the lost of breath. Their eyes were focused at each others, their breath against each other's face. Sakura looked deep into his onyx eyes to see if he was lying about what he had said and saw that they were warm. She cupped his face in her hands and rubbed her thumb against his cheeks. She couldn't tell whether or not he was lying to her; his facial expression showed nothing up warmth.

"Sasuke," she said. Her voice was filled with worry. "You're not playing with my feelings, are you?"

He couldn't help but let a very small smile form on his lips, but to Sakura, it still looked like a smirk. "No, I'm not," he whispered. Sasuke pulled Sakura closer to him. He placed his lips close to her left ear and whispered. "I swear I'll do what I can to make you happy."

Upon hearing those words, Sakura's grip tightened around his neck, not willing to let go as if her life depended on it. He had promised to try to make her happy. Several more tears made their way down her pale cheek as a smile formed on her lips. Maybe it was no longer unrequited love between the sole survivor of the Uchiha clan and the cherry blossom.

'_**He had an unusual way of saying he likes you.'**_ inner Sakura said before smiling. _**'At least we now know how he feels about you.'**_

Sasuke felt satisfied after confessing how he felt about Sakura, though he was inwardly cursing himself for not telling her his true feelings.

'_**You and your damn pride,'**_ inner Sasuke said with a sigh. _**'Lucky you're not too freaking arrogant or you'll be living your life in misery without her.'**_

Sakura pulled away from the embraced and looked deep into his eyes, her smile not leaving her face. It was good to see her smiling face again after so long. A smirk made its way across his lips as he leaned forward and placed his forehead against hers.

"We should rest now, Sakura."

* * *

**That's the end of Chapter 7. Please, please review.**

**AUTHOR NOTE: This chapter has been revised.**


	8. Chap 8: The Mission

**Konichiwa minna-san. Arigatou to all of those who reviewed. Gomen for any possible errors. This chapter took me a while, but here it is. I don't think I did a really good job with this chapter. Hope you enjoy reading.**

**Warning: There's lime in the beginning of this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this fanfic.**

* * *

Chapter 8: The Mission

The night was breezy and sounds of nature filled the woods. Crickets made their rhythmic music, the wind whistled as wit blew, and the leaves on the trees rustled as the wind swayed them. The moonlight was large and bright against the dark sky, making it seem like the round orb was actually touchable.

Sasuke woke up first and found the moon high up, signifying that it was close to midnight. He looked over at the kunoichi, sleeping peacefully against his left shoulder. Her right hand entwined with his and her free hand held on to his arm. Sakura had washed out the dye earlier and her bubble gum pink hair looked red in the dark. He moved his free hand over to her face and brushed the strands of lose hair away from her angelic face to get a better look of Sakura. His fingers gently stroke her smooth ivory cheeks. When she felt the warmth of his hand on her face, Sakura fluttered her eyes open and woke up with a warm smile on her lips.

"It's almost time," he said in a low hush tone.

She nodded and sat up straight, stretching her limbs. He stood up and offered a hand to her. She took it and shortly found herself up on her feet with her lips pressed against his. Sasuke removed his lips from hers and placed his forehead against hers, smirking. Sakura's face was flushed a light pink, a small shy smile on her lips, and her eyes gazing at his onyx orbs. He pulled back and went over to get something from his pack.

"Just bring all your needed weapons and change into these." He handed her a set of dark clothing and went over behind some trees to change into his own set of clothing.

Sakura removed the pink kimono top and neatly folded it before putting it into her pack. She took out a roll of bandages then removed the rest of the clothing on her upper body, leaving her chest fully exposed. She stripped down so that all she was left wearing was a pair of red panties.

As Sakura was changing, she didn't sense Sasuke's chakra nearby. He had changed quickly then masked his chakra and watched the pink haired girl from behind a tree. Just seeing her body was driving him insane and his possessive side came over him. He was an Uchiha and he would get what he wanted, when he wanted. At the moment all he wanted was Sakura. Sasuke wanted to be the only person to taint her body and claim her before any other man could. He wasn't going to share her with anyone; the cherry blossom was going to be his and his alone.

He eyed her body as she placed on the dark pants; the dark cloth ran smoothly against her long lean legs. Her evenly toned skin almost looked silver against the moonlight. Sasuke could feel his pants tightening at the sight of Sakura's luscious body. And the images of her naked body lying beneath him were adding to his desire. Unable to take it any longer, Sasuke appeared behind her when she was about to put on her shirt and held on to her possessively.

"Sasuke-kun!"

He paid no attention to her words and kissed the left corner of her lips then along her jaw line. He trailed kisses on her neck, occasionally nibbling on her fair skin. Sakura tilted her head slightly, giving him more access. He smirked against her skin when she gave out a low moan. Encouraged to go farther, he removed the chest bindings then unclipped her bra and let it slid down her arms. Her left hand ran through his hair and pulled him in closer while her other hand was on top of his right. His left hand made its way into her pants touching her near her core making her moan louder. His other hand roamed up her stomach to her breast then gave each a rough squeezed.

She let another moan escape her mouth before speaking. "Sasuke-kun… shouldn't we be completing the mission?"

He moved his head, kissing her skin behind her ear. "The mission can wait." Sasuke removed his hands from her and turned her around to face him. "I want you right now."

Sasuke pinned her against the nearest tree, kissing her harshly. She returned the kiss with just as much force. Sakura's hand went to remove his shirt as he brought her legs around his waist. She let out a moan when she felt his member brush against her entrance through their clothing.

Both their minds were completely lost. He set her down on her feet and placed his hands in her pants. They parted for a short moment as he slowly slid her pants down her creamy legs and she removed his shirt over his head. Their lips met each other's for another harsh passionate kiss. He pushed his body against her almost naked body, his hands roaming her luscious body.

**_'You better stop him before it goes too far!'_** inner Sakura yelled out. **_'Remember what Orochimaru said he wanted!'_**

Realizing that her inner was right, Sakura snapped back into reality. She quickly broke the kiss and pushed him away gently. She hugged her body to cover herself and to keep warm.

"Gomen Sasuke-kun, it's just…" Sakura didn't know that to say to him. She looked down on the ground and took in a deep breath before speaking again. "If something were to happen…if I were to get pregnant, I… I don't want to give up the baby."

He was confused; he chose to have feelings for her and wanted her to bare his children. Sasuke stepped closer to her, cupped her cheek to make her look up at him. "I would want you to keep it." He kissed her lips lightly.

"That's not what I mean Sasuke-kun," she said when he pulled back. It seems he doesn't know of Orochimaru's plans yet; she had to tell him. Sakura looked him directly in the eye. "Orochimaru wants us to have a child so that he can use it as his next container."

Now gaining a better understanding of Orochimaru's reasons for capture Sakura, Sasuke's expression changed to anger. They were tools to him used to help him gain more power. He pulled Sakura into his arms and embraced her tightly.

"I won't let him use us. We'll get through everything together."

—xXx—

The town had Grass shinobis alert at every corner; most were Jounins and ANBU level. Sasuke and Sakura were hiding in the shadows on a roof top. They had gone through the floor plans of the building and memorized the important passages. Sasuke used his Sharingan to scan the building that they were targeting, a mansion. The place was set up with all sorts of traps, explosive tags, ambushes, and even wired traps. Sasuke could only smirk as his blood red eyes changed back to his onyx eyes.

"They're suspecting us?" Sakura asked.

"Aa."

She didn't feel any other presences around beside Sasuke's. With a chakra fist, Sakura punched the roof top of the building they were standing on. Before the building crumbled, both jumped off heading to their destination. Grass ninjas made their way to the site of the destruction.

"What the hell happened here? The building is completely destroyed!"

"Could it be that one of our comrades encountered the enemy here?"

"Don't just stand here, we have to find them!"

Sasuke and Sakura reached the door of the mansion without being noticed. When Sakura saw who the owner of the mansion was, she clenched her fist in anger and her chakra level began rising. Sasuke admittedly noticed Sakura's burning chakra level and saw that the curse seal had spread across her face. Sasuke was about to asked her what was wrong, but she beat him too it.

"Sasuke-kun, what is our mission?" Sakura asked in anger, staring at the door.

"Konishi Aki had one of his personal ninja infiltrate Orochimaru's hideout and took a scroll that has something important written in it." Sasuke looked over at Sakura. "We are here to retrieve the scroll. Why do you ask?"

"A few months back, he was labeled an S-rank criminal by Konoha for what he did to the village and for other crimes he tried to pull. One was the attempt assassination of Tsunade-shishou. An ANBU team was assigned a mission to assassinate him," Sakura clenched her first harder. "But they failed. Their back up team was Anko, Kakashi, Neji, and I."

"What happened?"

He knew that as Konoha shinobis, those that went on high ranked mission we never to reveal what went on, but curiosity got the best of him.

"That's what pisses me off. When we arrived, the four ANBU were seriously injured and Konishi was out in the open, unguarded. I took the opportunity to kill him, but was stopped by one of his own ninjas. I was ordered to hold back that our abilities matched and we had to pull back because of the injured ANBU members." Sakura cracked her knuckles with a happy grin on her face. "This time, I won't hold back."

"Do as you wish, Sakura," Sasuke said, patting Sakura's head as if she was a little girl. "We were ordered to bring Aki back to Orochimaru, but I doubt he would care if he found out _you_ handled him."

Sasuke let the curse mark spread little as he pulled out Kusanagi from its sheath and sliced opened the doors. Right there waiting for them were a group of strong missing ninjas.

"Would you look at that? It's the pinky that came with the copy ninja to assassinate Konishi-sama awhile back," one said with pleasure in his voice. "I think I'm going to have some fun with you this time."

**_'He just called us PINKY!'_** inner Sakura screamed. **_'Let me out to kick his ass!'_**

The word _pinky_ really pissed Sakura, that in a blink of an eye, the ninja was on the ground dead with a kunai imbedded through his neck. The ninja looked dead, but the pink haired kunoichi didn't really kill him. Where she had aim had placed the ninja in a temporarily dead like state.

Sasuke looked over at Sakura and saw that purple chakra was surrounding her and the curse seal had taken over. Her skins now a light brown, the once emerald green eyes were golden, and long dark red hair.

He smirked at her reaction of the ninjas in front of them. _'Never call her pinky.'_

**_'You're damned right about that, unless you want to end up like him,'_** his inner said.

All the ninjas were beginning to tremble at the sight and power of Sakura. She heard Kusanagi sheathed and turned her head to Sasuke. He removed his shirt as the curse seal spread across the rest of his body. All the ninjas began to tremble wide-eyed at what Sasuke had become, even Sakura. This was her first time seeing his true form when the curse seal took over.

His dark spiky hair grew long and turned dark blue, a four pointed black star appeared on his nose, his lips were dark, and his eyes were jet black with his Sharingan. Then his wing like claws grew out of his back, horrifying those that saw him.

"It ends here," Sasuke muttered before disappearing.

The ninjas were all thrown back by one punch from Sasuke. Sakura was speechless at the sight of him. She walked over to him, staring at his appearance. She wanted to touch him to make sure what she saw was real and not an illusion.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura's voice was low. "Is this what you turn into?"

He nodded, staring into the hallway. "Our target is at the end of this hall."

They both ran through the hall way, knocking away the ninjas that blocked their way and destroying every trap they encounter. Wires and paper bomb tags were cut in half by Sasuke before any could go off. Sakura veered away all kunais and shurikens that came flying toward them with the use of chakra strings.

When Sasuke was dealing with some ninjas, one triggered a trap where a large bolder was to come and bang into anything in its path. Sakura saw this and without using any chakra, she shattered the rock with one punch. When they reached the end of the hall, all that was behind them were the bodies of knocked out ninjas, either slumped against the wall or laying on the ground.

The large double doors the two young sannins stood in front of were locked. Their clothes were stained with bits of blood and there were several gashes on their body. The ones on Sakura's body were admitting some smoke while it healed itself to just stop the bleeding. With two quick slashes from Kusanagi, the doors fell from its hinges.

When they walked in, there was a group of ninjas trembling in fear. They were afraid of the two for they had gotten through the defenses as if it was nothing.

"Impossible! We had the top ninjas and traps set up everywhere! How the hell could they gotten through?" It was the frightened voice of Konishi Aki from behind the ninjas. "KILL THEM! DON'T LET THEM COME NEAR ME!" Konishi screamed at the top of his lungs.

In an instant all the ninjas in the room were on the ground. Sasuke and Sakura walked over and stood in front of Konishi Aki. The markings on their body were retreating back to where it, only leaving a few of the seal's markings over their neck and face.

"Hand over the scroll you took from Orochimaru." Sasuke's voice was in a low tone, and that met that if one didn't cooperate, hell would rain upon him.

Aki squirmed over to the cupboard behinds him to get what was demanded. When he got it out, he handed it to Sasuke quivering in fear from his appearance.

"I-I have g-given you w-w-what you wanted. I b-beg of y-you to l-let m-me live." Konishi was staring into the cold red eyes of Sasuke. "P-please spare-"

Konishi was cut off when Sakura grabbed his neck holding him up. He panicked to try to get her to free him, but she didn't let go. Konishi looked at Sakura closely and his eyes widened when he noticed who it was.

"You're that kunoichi from Konoha, the Hokage's apprentice." This time his voice wasn't stuttering, he was mocking Sakura. "What are you doing here and with Oto? Hell! Couldn't handle the mission yourself?"

Sasuke raged when he was revered as Oto. He was never a part of Sound and never would be. He was only there to gain power in order to reach his goals. He pulled out a kunai and stuck it into the flesh of Konishi. The man screamed out in pain. For mocking her, Sakura tightened her grip around Konishi's neck.

"I'm here to complete a mission." Sakura's eyes were blazing in anger.

Sakura's right fist glowed with chakra. With all her anger channeled into her fist, she punched Konishi in the gut and he rammed into the wall behind. His ribs shattered causing them to puncture his organs, leading to internal bleeding. He would only survive if he received immediate medical attention.

As they walked out of the room, the curse seal retire, turning them back to their normal image.

"Feel better now that you've completed a mission?" Sasuke asked monotone as he put back on his shirt.

She nodded. "I don't have this bothering me anymore."

When they were out of the mansion, there was a group of Grass ninjas waiting for them. Not wanting to waste anymore time in the Grass Village, Sasuke handed the scroll to Sakura and stood in front of her. With his quick speed, he made a few hand signs.

"Katon Ryuuka no Jutsu!"

Flames surrounded Sasuke and Sakura then suddenly it shot out at the ninjas around. As they were blinded by the flames, Sasuke grabbed Sakura and jumped off.

The Grass ninjas were too preoccupied with the flames possibly spreading that they didn't noticed the two had escaped. Sasuke was carrying Sakura, bridle style, as he jumped from roof top to roof top quickly to get out of the village.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura felt like a burden to Sasuke and didn't want him to think of her as the weak little girl she once was. "You could put me down."

He didn't answer. Sakura hand her arms tightly around his neck and looked up at his face. Sasuke's arms tightened around her that he didn't wish to let her go.

"I'm not going to."

When they reached their camp site, Sakura healed the wounds they had received, even though it was nothing much. If any tracker ninjas were sent after them, it would be safer to have all their wounds healed so that they won't leave a trail. They quickly changed out of their mission clothing and burned it, so not to leave any clues.

With all their things gathered and all that remained in the pile of smoke was ashes, they turned to head back to the Sound base. Even though it was still dark, they hurried through the forest and roads so not to get caught, regardless of their chakra level.

"Sakura, we won't speak a word about what happened between us," Sasuke said with his eyes focused at what was in front of him.

Sakura, who was traveling beside him a foot behind nodded. "Would Orochimaru assume something happen between us?" she asked, her voice filled with uncertainty. She was still a bit timid around the Uchiha because of what had happen earlier, but she wouldn't let that one small event take over her.

"Maybe, but if that snake ever found out what we had almost done," he said, shifting his eyes back to look at Sakura for a moment before turning his gaze back ahead. "He would be beyond pleased."

There was a slight blush on her cheeks; she knew what he was referring too. She was relieved that her inner reminded her before they had gone any further. "I understand. We keep everything to ourselves."

—xXx—

When they arrived back at the Sound base, the sun had begun to rise. They were physically exhausted from using up so much chakra and strength. They were going to retire to their room immediately after walking into the base, but Orochimaru just had to summon them; it was like the snake sannin was expecting them to return at that time. When they entered the room, they were greeted by a very pleased sannin.

"Sasuke-kun, Sakura-chan, did you have fun on your mission?" Orochimaru said in a creepy tone.

Sakura was slightly panicking inwardly. The way Orochimaru had just spoken to them made her nervous and made it seem like he had been watching them all along.

Sensing her uneasiness, Sasuke pulled out the scroll from his pack. "Here's your damn scroll." He tossed it over to Kabuto who was standing by Orochimaru. "We're going to rest now."

"Before you leave, take these with you," Orochimaru said as Kabuto handed both a book each. "It's filled with jutsus I want you to try to master."

The book looked fairly brand new, as if it was made specifically for the two of them. After receiving the book, they were going to exit the room to go get some rest. Sakura turned to around first to go to the door, but Orochimaru stopped the cherry blossom in her tracks.

"Oh, before I forget," Orochimaru's voice was full of amusement. "Welcome to the family Sakura-chan." The pink haired kunoichi stopped to hear what else the snake sannin had to say. "You're now officially apart of Oto." Sakura clenched her fist. She had to control her temper if she wanted to hear what was going to be said. "You are no longer welcomed into Konoha."

"You're lying," Sakura said.

She heard Orochimaru chuckling creepily. "The pure cherry blossom of Konoha is now the dark blossom of Oto."

Sakura clenched her teeth and turned her head around slowly to face the snake eyed man. Her eyes were slightly narrowed at the man in pure hatred.

"What the hell do you mean?" she questioned dangerously.

* * *

**My cliff hanger ending! That's the end of Chapter 8.**

**The beginning part was hard to put together because I needed a way for Sasuke to find out about Orochimaru's new container came up with a lime/lemon.**

**That's it for now. Please review.**

**AUTHOR NOTE: This chapter has been revised.**


	9. Chap 9: Srank Criminal

**Konichiwa minna-san! Arigatou to all of those that reviewed. Gomen for any possible errors present in this chapter. This chapter took me a while to write, but I'm finally satisfied with the work. Enjoy reading.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this fanfic.**

* * *

Chapter 9: S-rank Criminal

Orochimaru chuckled more before speaking. "Besides being a missing ninja of Konoha, you're also an S-rank criminal now." His voice was filled with amusement and pleasure. "You've completed a mission for me and will no longer be seen as a shinobi of Konoha."

Sakura clenched her fist tightly. "You set this up!"

An evil smile made his way across Orochimaru's face. She couldn't take it anymore and snatched up the kunai from the hostler and threw it at the sannin. It flew quickly, grazed his right cheek, went through the chair, and imbedded in the wall behind.

The kunoichi deliberately missed the sannin's face. She wanted the kunai to imbed itself in the skull of Orochimaru, but doing that would cause more trouble. Not wanting to stay in the room any longer, Sakura turned around and punched the door open, walking out without glancing back.

Orochimaru's smile grew even wider. "Sasuke-kun, you and Sakura-chan have a week off to do whatever you wish." Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly knowing exactly what the snake wanted them to do during their given break. "But remember to try to learn some of those jutsu."

With those words said, Sasuke left the room. He didn't bother with the fallen door as he walked out and disappeared in the darkness.

Kabuto set aside the scroll ant went to heal the small slash on Orochimaru's face. As the male medic healed the wound, he noticed that it was deeper than any small scratch from a kunai. Though the kunai had only grazed the sannin's cheek, the damage was unusual.

"Did Sakura-san use any chakra?" Kabuto asked, stunned at the damage and strength displayed by the new female sannin. "The speed and power was-"

"No, that was pure physical strength without any chakra built up," Orochimaru said cutting off his faithful henchman. "And they're still growing in strength."

"But this cut is unusual Orochimaru-sama," the male medic said as he began to heal the wound. "Sakura-san must have used some chakra."

"If she did," Orochimaru said. "Then she must know how to manipulate chakra without others knowing or sensing it."

* * *

The news of the death of Konishi Aki traveled rapidly. His body was sent to Konoha for Tsunade to conduct a full report on his death. The corners in Grass wanted the opinion of the Hokage because they wouldn't pin point what could cause Konishi to die the way he did. Besides files from the medical examination with the body, there was a letter from the Grass ANBU that gave her some information of the criminals.

Trying not to get distracted by her thoughts of Sakura, Tsunade was at her office looking over her report. She was comparing the examination report with the one the Grass medics had written. The details she had written bothered her, but it was the truth. She kept going over the report to figure out what could have possibly caused that much damage. The only answer she always found herself at was what she didn't want to believe.

There was a knock on her door that got her out of her train of thought.

"Come in."

Kakashi, Anko, and Neji entered the room. They bowed to the Hokage and waited for her to speak to them.

"Do you remember the assassination mission I assigned you awhile back with Sakura?" Tsunade asked without looking up at the three. They nodded yes to her answer. "Unfortunately, our target was killed last night, by two ninjas."

"You're not serious Tsunade-sama," Neji spoke out. "We weren't able to lay a finger on him and yet only two ninjas were able to kill him with ease."

"Yes that has been bothering me too." Tsunade looked up at the three. "There will be a meeting with all the Leaf shinobi. We will discuss the details of the event then. You may leave now."

Neji left the room, but Kakashi and Anko stayed behind. When the door was shut, she looked up to face them. She made sure there weren't any other chakra signatures around before speaking.

"Kakashi I know that the well being of Sakura has been bothering you and Naruto. Don't dwell on it, I'm thinking of a way to get her back."

"Hai."

"Have you two seen the body?" Tsunade asked, changing the subject.

"Yes," Kakashi said. "The damage Konishi Aki suffered is very unusual. Cause of death was internal bleeding yet his organs seem to have been healthy."

"His organs may have been healthy, but bones were shattered and stabbing them," Anko added. "And the gigantic bruise on his chest is also mysterious."

Tsunade nodded in agreement. "The only ones capable of inflicting that sort of damage have to be skilled medics. Yakushi Kabuto, Haruno Sakura, and I are the only ones with the ability to do so. I don't know of any other medics whose skills are that capable of causing that short of damage. Due to the extent of the injuries, Kabuto doesn't have the strength to do that and I haven't left Konoha."

"So that narrows it down to Sakura," Kakashi said. "But that's impossible because she's been captured by Orochimaru. Knowing her, she would never do anything for him."

"He could have planned everything," Anko said. "It may not have been Sakura's doing and could be an imposter posing as her. Orochimaru has his ways of having things go in his favor."

"There are just too many possibilities to consider," the blond said. Tsunade got up from her seat and grabbed the folder of evidence with her. "We better head over to start the meeting now."

—xXx—

"Tsunade-sama is it true that Konishi Aki is dead?" the smart yet lazy ass ninja, Shikamaru asked.

She nodded. "Luckily the Grass ANBUs were able to get two pictures of the two that did that. Because of the unusual appearance of the two, only those who were on that mission to try to retrieve Sasuke will get to see the photos."

The picture passed from one shinobi to the next. Shikamaru saw it first and didn't think recognize either one of the ninjas, but he spoke up about something as he passed the photo.

"Eh Tsunade-sama, the way they look is very similar to that Sound ninja I fought. When those markings spread over their body, their appearance changes completely."

Tsunade acknowledged with what Shikamaru said. All the others agreed to for that they knew of it as well. When Naruto got the picture, he clenched his right fist and his body shook, trembling as if he was in fear or disbelieve.

"Is there something wrong, Naruto-kun?" asked Rock Lee.

"It's the teme," Naruto's voice was filled with anger. "This one right here is Sasuke!" He pointed to the one that had the claw like wings. "I saw him like that when I fought him!"

"He's already a missing ninja and an S-rank criminal. What about the other one? Do any of you know who it is?" Tsunade asked.

None of them answered. The photo was of Sasuke in curse seal form and right next to him was the blossom. They didn't know it was her because of her appearance.

Tsunade took the next photo and examined it, for she didn't get a chance to do so before the meeting. She was so caught up in the medical examination she had forgotten about the photos. Her eyes widened when she saw Sakura, her face half coved with the curse seal. Her hair was longer in length and was changing colors, from the bottom end to the top.

"No, this can't be…" Tsunade was shaking, the photo still in her hand. "It can't be true."

Jiraiya was present at the meeting. Ever since Sakura was captured, he lost Orochimaru's trail and was unable to gather more information on what he was planning. Information involving Akatsuki, the toad sannin has his sources gathering the info. Due to the threat of invasion, Jiraiya decided to stay in the village and have his sources gather information for him.

He went over to Tsunade and took the photo out of her hand and looked at it himself, seeing that Tsunade was having difficulty telling people. He didn't understand what she was talked about until he realized the pink haired kunoichi standing next to Sasuke.

"Orochimaru has added another to his flock of power," Jiraiya said then looked at the broken Hokage. "Tsunade, you have no other choice. It's out of your hands now."

"It could be someone using the transformation jutsu to impersonate her."

"What if it's not?" Jiraiya argue. "You can't assume that it's not her after the examination on the body. She could have been under a genjutsu, drugged, or even brain washed to do this. It's the only way to keep the village safe."

"But we need more evidence-"

"Tsunade!" Jiraiya cut her off. "You're the Hokage of Konoha and it's your duty to protect the village."

He was right, no matter what reason she could come up with to defend Sakura, the picture clearly showed her. As Hokage, the safety and lives of those in the village depended on her decisions.

_'I hate this job sometimes,'_ Tsunade thought to herself.

Tsunade took in a deep breath and looked at all the ninjas present in the room.

"There is no need for the photo to be passed around," she said with a clear loud voice. "We have identified the last person and she is already considered a missing ninja."

The word _she_ got all the ninjas confused. No one would have thought that a female would ever be classified as a huge threat. All S-rank criminals were male, but this was the first kunoichi.

"Who is it Hokage-sama?"

"What village is she from?"

All the ninjas were questioning Tsunade; they wanted to know. The Godaime didn't know whether or not she should say who it was. Part of her wanted to just run out of the meeting to go into Sound territory to find Sakura and the other part her wanted to do what was best for the village. She was torn between two sides, unsure of which to really follow. What bothered her even more now was how Kakashi and Naruto would handle the news. The news would blow them both away and Naruto would be hurt most of all. The first female Hokage of Konoha suspected that they might have figured out who it might be, but they didn't want to believe it.

"The new S-rank criminal in our bingo book is…." she said, stopping for a moment. Tsunade couldn't bring herself to say the name; it hurt so much just thinking about it. "Haruno Sakura."

Everyone was shocked; Konoha's strongest kunoichi and apprentice to the Godaime had become an S-rank criminal in their bingo book. It was hard to believe that the pure innocence of the young pink haired woman would ever be consumed by the darkness.

"Tsunade-sama, t-there must be s-some m-mistake," Hinata said stuttering, not wanting to believe that one of her best friends had become a criminal. "S-Sakura-chan, w-would n-never become a c-criminal."

"That's right!" Ino yelled in protest. "Forehead girl loves Konoha too much to betray us!"

Jiraiya held up the photo for everyone to see. They noticed the pink haired person, but didn't believe that it was Sakura. Kakashi took the picture to get a better look. His visible eye saddened at the sight on the photo.

"There's no doubt that it's Sakura and she has the curse seal too," the silver haired man whispered out loud to himself.

Kakashi was depressed; he lost another one of his students, another comrade. The original members of team seven reduced down to only two left. Naruto dropped down to his knees and punched the ground. He grinded his teeth, holding back all the tears that threaten to fall.

"DAMN IT!" Naruto pounded at the ground again. "DAMN IT ALL!"

His arms wrapped around his stomach as his body slumped down, his head almost touching the floor. The two legendary sannins and the copycat ninja were the only ones that heard his silent tears.

"Why did it have to be them?" he questioned with both a hint of anger and sadness in his words. "Why did it have to be Sasuke-teme and Sakura-chan? Why couldn't be someone else that I wasn't close to?"

The shy Hyuuga heiress wanted to comfort the blond, but she didn't know if it was the right time to do so. Rock Lee kneed down by Naruto and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"This meeting is over," the Hokage said. "You may all leave now."

All the ninjas left the room, leaving only the rookie teams, the legendary sannins, and Kakashi in the room. Naruto was still slumped down on the floor, a few tears seeping through his closed eyes.

"Tsunade-baa-san," Naruto said seriously. He sat up and whipped away the tears in his eyes with his sleeve. "Sent me on a mission to Sound and I will bring both of them back!"

Naruto looked at Tsunade for her answer. He wanted to bring Sasuke back ever since he left Konoha and now that Sakura was taken, he was determined more than ever. They were both like siblings, a family to him, and now it was torn apart. All he wanted was to patch up the broken family; he wanted things to be like the old days when they first become team seven. He had the support of all his friends, but they knew what could possibly happen.

"No matter what it takes, I will bring them back! Please give me the mission!"

"You won't stand a chance against them, Naruto," Shikamaru said. "You fought Sasuke once when he was in that form and lost. What makes you think you can win when it's two against one."

What Shikamaru said was true. He's not called a genius for no reason, but Naruto didn't care.

"Sakura-chan wouldn't fight, she would be on the sidelines watching," Naruto argued. "But if she does I'll have you guys as my back up. With all of us put together, we'll be able to beat them and bring them back."

Shikamaru took in a deep breath before speaking again. "Even if we go, Sakura knows our strength and weakness after sparing with her several times before. Sasuke has his Sharingan that he can match our every move."

Naruto stood up. "Then I'll go alone to find them." He turned around and walked to exit the room. "If I die," Naruto said in a calm voice as he headed out. "I died trying to save them."

Naruto was about to leave the room, but Kakashi stood in front of him and used his Sharingan to put him to sleep.

"Gomen, Naruto." Kakashi whispered so that no one could hear him, as he let Naruto fall into his arms. "We can't risk having you killed by Orochimaru or captured by Akatsuki."

* * *

After wondering the base for a while, Sakura finally reached the room. She was consumed by her anger that she didn't pay any attention to where she was heading toward. As she walked the halls, there were several times she punched the wall out of rage. The ninjas that witnessed what she did stood clear of the pink haired kunoichi, afraid of what she would do if they did get in her way.

Sakura wanted to clear her mind with a warm shower; she needed to relax her tensed body. She turned the knob of the door, but it wouldn't budge. Frustrated, she gathered a bit of chakra in her hand. She drew her right fist back to punch down the door, but someone grasped her wrist, preventing her from breaking the door.

"Stop trying to breaking things," Sasuke said monotone as he stared down at the young woman.

He had followed the sounds of the loud pounding to find Sakura. He had arrived just in time to stop her from breaking down the door. With his free hand, he unlocked the door with chakra and they both walked in. Sakura didn't glance over at Sasuke and dropped her pack down by the couch before entering into the bathroom.

**_'She must really hurt inside after hearing the news from the snake bastard.'_** inner Sasuke said.

_'Aa…'_

**_'Think of something to cheer her up!'_**

_'What am I suppose to do? She just found out she's a criminal to her village!'_

**_'Maybe you should make out with her to get her mind off things! The two of you almost did before the mission.'_**

_'You're a pervert. Don't you remember what Sakura said about what Orochimaru wanted?"_

**_'Well, think of something else then!'_**

Sasuke set his things aside and sat down on the couch thinking. It pained him to see Sakura melancholy; it made him feel guilty, as if she was the cause of her unhappiness. He wasn't good when it came to words that if he did try to comfort her using words, he would fail miserably.

He didn't know what to do to make the pink haired girl smile again. All he could do was to wait for the young woman to come out and attempt to talk to her. He took one of the books and began flipping though it to see what jutsus Orochimaru wanted them to learn.

In the bathroom, the room was beginning to steam up. As the water rain down on her entire body, Sakura let her tears fall freely, running down with the showering water. She didn't want Sasuke to see her cry again so she held them back until she was alone. She felt better letting her tears run as she showered. It was like all her troubles were being washed away by the water.

After about fifteen to twenty minutes in the shower, Sakura finally turned off the water. She grabbed the towel hanging on the rack nearby and began to dry her body. She dried her hair with the towel and then held the towel close to her, taking in the scent of the Uchiha. She hung back the towel on the rack to dry and dressed herself in the fresh clothing that had been set aside ahead of time by the Sound ninja beside Sasuke's stack.

When she was done dressing, the pink haired kunoichi looked at her reflection in the mirror. The black shorts she wore covered less than half her thigh and a low tank top that revealed a bit of her cleavage and abdomen. The clothes were supplied to her by the Sound kunoichis and it seemed they didn't have any other kind of clothing.

**_'The Sound kunoichis really like dressing up like whores,'_** inner Sakura said. **_'They need a new wardrobe of clothing!'_**

_'You got that right.'_

She covered her thin figure with the pink kimono top Sasuke had gotten her during their mission and walked out. She saw the Uchiha on the couch, paying no attention to her. Sakura felt she owed Sasuke an apology for acting cruel toward him earlier. She went over the sofa and was about to flop herself beside Sasuke, but he pull her into his lap. He set the book aside and snaked his arms around her small waist.

"Daijoubu?" Sasuke whispered into her ear as he dug his face into her hair.

Though he wasn't a very open person, Sasuke wanted to try to comfort Sakura; he wanted to see her smiling face. When she didn't answer, his arms tightened around her waist slightly. There was a light pink blush on her cheeks. She snuggled in closer to the man and encircled his torso with her arms, gently laying her head against his chest. She enjoyed the warmth and security when in his arms. He made her feel as if everything that had happened never happened at all, like it was just a dream.

"I just can't take in the fact that I'm a criminal to Konoha now." She took in a deep breath. "I'm an S-rank criminal to my home."

Sasuke tightened his arms around her waist, pulling her in closer. "You're not the only one Sakura. I'm a missing ninja and an S-rank criminal of Konoha. As I've said before, we'll get through things together."

The way the Uchiha was acting was odd, but Sakura didn't mind; it was interesting to see this side of Sasuke that she had never seen before. He was kind, gentle, protective, somewhat possessive, and loving all at the same time.

Sakura looked up to meet his onyx eyes; a small visible smile was on her lips. "Arigatou, Sasuke-kun," she whispered to him. She moved her head higher up and let their lips touch.

* * *

**That's the end of this chapter. I'll try to update the next chapter as soon as possible. Please review.**

**AUTHOR NOTE: This chapter has been revised.**


	10. Chap 10: Time Off

**Konichiwa minna-san. Arigatou to all of those that reviewed, I love all the feedbacks. Those that have reviewed every chapter posted…ARIGATOU! As I've said before, gomen for any possible errors present. I went through the reviews and many want to see Orochimaru get his ass kicked by the sannin couple. No worries, it's coming very soon. This chapter is kind of plain, hope all the readers enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this fanfic.**

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Chapter 10: Time Off

Sakura was about to break the kiss, but Sasuke didn't let her. His right hand reached up and tangled itself in her pink locks. Seeing that he was unwilling to let her go, she wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing him closer. Their passionate kiss went on and she moaned when his tongue slowly slip between her lips to taste her. He then pulled back looking into her eyes then began to trail soft kisses down her neck. A light blush was beginning to grow across her cheeks as Sasuke began to mark her, leaving more than one behind.

He gently laid her on the couch with his body position above hers; his legs were on either side of her body. He nibbled her skin, earning a few moans from her. He tried to loosen her robe, but she had tied the stash in a very strong tight knot. Sakura had one hand running though his raven locks and her other hand was attempting to remove his shirt. When he reached her collar bone, Sasuke was about to slide her top off her shoulder, but they were interrupted.

"Sasuke-sama, I've brought you your meal," a seductive voice said.

The voice of outside the door belonged to a kunoichi, mostly likely one of the fan girls because it sounded a bit playful. She was probably hoping to catch Sasuke coming out dripping wet from the showers, but unfortunately for her, he had other things on his mind.

The pink haired young woman heard Sasuke growled in anger at the interruption; he wanted to go a bit further. Sakura raised her shoulder up, only to be pushed back down. She tried to get up, but Sasuke didn't want to let her go.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun," Sakura was trying to leave his strong grip. "We haven't eaten since yesterday, you aren't hungry?"

Sasuke smirked and brought his face close to her ear and whispered. "That why I have you here. You satisfy my hunger needs, Sakura-_chan_."

The ways he said her name with the suffix make her shiver slight, she wounded what the Uchiha had in mind for the two of them. Sakura turned to look at the smirking Sasuke as her face turned tomato red from what he just said. Embarrassed by what he said, she used a bit of chakra and shoved him over to go answer the door. She fixed her hair so that it didn't look too messy after the Uchiha had tangled his hand in her locks. After doing so, she opened the door and there stood a sound fan girl with a large tray of food.

"I'll take it in," Sakura said as kindly as she could to the kunoichi, while on the inside, she wanted to beat the girl up.

'_**Let me at her!"**_ Sakura's inner yelled out. _**'She ruined our time with Sasuke-kun!'**_

She glared at Sakura before extending her arm to give the tray to the pink haired woman. The kunoichi was about to hand the tray over to the young female sannin, but froze when she saw the other appear. He wrapped his arms possessively around Sakura's small figure while glaring at the fan girl in front of them. Sasuke lowered his head and dug his face into her hair, he's eyes still held the fierce look with his gaze fixed on the Sound kunoichi.

'_**Let's have a little fun with the fan girl again,'**_ inner Sakura suggested. _**'I will never get tired of tricking these fan girls!'**_

"Not now Sasuke-kun," Sakura said sweetly as she moved her head and looked up to meet the Uchiha's fierce gaze. Sakura could see the girl was beginning to feel uncomfortable as Sasuke continued to glare at the girl. The pink haired woman placed her hand over the male's hand reassuringly and Sasuke's grip tightened around her waist. "Later, okay?"

A visible smirk made its way across his lips. The kunoichi stood in place, shocked at the scene in front of her. To her, it seemed like she had interrupted the two when they were in the middle of something and the Uchiha was pissed about it. She looked over the pink haired kunoichi and noticed that her robe was loosened. Part of the robe was sliding off her shoulder, exposing her creamy skin. Sasuke's haori was partially tucked and his hair slightly messy.

"Are you going to just stand there staring?" Sakura asked annoyed, glancing back at the kunoichi.

The Sound kunoichi snapped out of her daze and handed the tray over. "Gomen."

"Leave," Sasuke said in a cold tone, as he took the tray.

The Sound kunoichi continued to stand there as Sasuke pulled Sakura in and slammed the door shut. He placed the tray of food on the desk and turned back to Sakura. Before she could reach the desk, Sasuke stood in front of her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Now where were we?"

Sakura could only smile innocently. "Not now Sasuke-kun," she said with a playful voice. "I don't want to end up starving because of you."

"Hn."

She stood on her toes and placed a kiss on the corner of his lips. He removed his arms around her and headed to the bathroom. Sakura could only smile when she saw the bathroom door slam shut.

'_**Someone's mad because they didn't' get what they wanted!'**_ inner Sakura said laughing. _**'After that little scene, rumors are bound to spread.'**_

'_I wonder how his fan girls are going to take it.'_

'_**They might start stalking you and Sasuke-kun to find out if things are true!"**_

Sakura grabbed something to eat from the tray and went to sit on the couch. Not wanting to be bored, she grabbed the book on the desk and opened it up. The Hokage's apprentice was used to multitasking very much; training as a medical ninja really prepared her. This time, it was a bit difficult to multitask because of the things she was reading. She slowly ate; her mind focused more on the jutsus in the book.

Sasuke took his time in the shower, wanting to feel refreshed before getting a good night's rest, but his inner bothered him.

'_**Someone was eager to get things heated up!'**_ Sasuke's inner said. _**'And you said you can't do it because of the snake bastard.'**_

'_Shut up.'_

'_**When are you planning to take care of the bastard anyways?'**_

'_Soon, then I'll revenge my clan.'_

'_**Are you going to take Sakura with you?'**_

'_Most likely yes…'_

When he was done, he grabbed his towel that was slightly moist. He knew Sakura had used it, but didn't care. He dressed himself, but didn't put on a shirt or his haori. His raven hair was still slightly damp as he walked out of the bathroom. Sakura was focused on the book of jutsus that she didn't notice Sasuke. Before sitting down beside her, he grabbed a tomato off the tray. Wanting to surprise her, Sasuke moved silently toward her, keeping his chakra level low.

"Sa-ku-ra…" he said hotly into her ear.

Sakura jumped a little; she didn't yell out like he assumed she would. She turned to face whoever was beside her, completely startled; she was so distracted that she didn't pay attention to her surroundings. Sasuke could only smirk at her sudden reaction.

"Don't scare me like that, Sasuke-kun," she pouted. "I didn't even notice you coming out," Sakura said before taking another bite of the apple she had and turning her gaze back on the book.

"Is there something bothering you, Sakura?" Sasuke said as he took a bite of his tomato. "I haven't seen you like this since the academy days."

"These jutsus... it's like every jutsu a shinobi can ever learn and use is written down." Sakura looked up at Sasuke. "There're offensive, defensive, medical, ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu, and forbidden jutsus here."

"Hn." It was Sasuke's way of saying continue as he ate.

"There are also Kekkai Genkai abilities written in here," she said. "Some of these advanced bloodline limits I have never heard of before." Sakura showed Sasuke the page she was on. "Most of these jutsus resided in only a certain villages, yet I can't figure out how Orochimaru got his hands on this kind of information."

"You know that all the ninjas in Sound came from other hidden villages." Sasuke placed his head against Sakura's. "He must have got them to tell him about some of the jutsus."

Sakura thought over what he said, and then something hit her.

"Sasuke-kun, I remember hearing from Jiraiya-sama that Orochimaru was once a part of Akatsuki. He could have gotten all this information before he left."

Sasuke's blood began to boil when he heard the name Akatsuki. He moved his head away from her and glared at nothing in particular. The half eaten tomato in his hand was crushed in his fist. Sakura saw that she had made him furious because the group included his brother, Uchiha Itachi. Not wanting to deal with a flared up Uchiha, Sakura put the book on the desk and turned to face him.

She cupped his face in her left hand and turned his anger gaze toward her. Sakura lifted herself up and brushed her lips against his before pushing them together. The passionate kiss got Sasuke out of his anger state and he began to return the kiss. Sakura noticed this and pulled back with a smile of satisfaction on her face.

"Sasuke-kun, don't let it bother you. When the times come, I promise to be there with you and help."

Sasuke's expression softened a bit. He knew that Sakura was referring to his revenge. He remembered the night he left Konoha that Sakura had told him that she would help him and always be there for him. Sasuke pulled Sakura in with his left arm to embrace her.

'_Arigatou Sakura,'_ Sasuke said in his mind and not to her.

He wanted to tell her, but it felt award. The last time he said those same words to her, he knocked her out afterward and left her on the bench.

They finished eating their meal and Sakura tried to start up a conversation with Sasuke. Even though he only responded back to her with his simple one worded answers, it didn't bother her much; all that matted was that he was listening. It took her a while to understand what he met at times, but she got used to it. By the time they realized what time it was, the sun was beginning to set. The two were tired since they hadn't slept since the rest they had before the mission.

Sasuke got up and took the tray, placing it outside by the door. When he turned around, he saw Sakura grab a pillow and blanket from the bed. She placed the pillow at one end of the couch before lying down. Sakura stayed on the couch and didn't attempt to take the bed.

"Sakura aren't you going to try to take the bed?"

Sakura give out a small laugh. "Would you even allow me to sleep on your bed?" She didn't get a response from the Uchiha. "Don't worry; I'm just fine where I am."

Sasuke smirked as Sakura closed her eyes. He walked over to her and looked down at her; she always puts others before herself. Sasuke took the pillow away and tossed it to the bed, making Sakura's head fall back and hit the arm rest on the sofa. She opened her eyes, pouting and glaring at the same time at the Uchiha. He leaned down and lifted her off the sofa, bridal style and headed to the bed. Her hands grabbed hold of his shoulder; she couldn't shake off the feeling that he was going to drop her. To her surprise, Sasuke placed her down gently on the bed. She removed her hands from his shoulder and stared into his onyx eyes.

His own dark eyes stared back into her emerald ones, his face stoic. Sakura was drifting off into a daze from just looking into his eyes. He took the opportunity to lean in and gave her a small kiss on her lips. Sasuke pulled back and the pink haired kunoichi had a small shy smile on her lips and her cheeks were flushed a light pink. Her blush grew darker when Sasuke lay at her side with his arm under his head. Sakura tried to say something, but not a word was coming out of her mouth.

"Don't doubt what I won't and will allow," he said monotony. She opened her mouth to say something, but Sasuke beat her to it. "I won't do anything to you. Just go to sleep."

She closed her mouth and smiled. Sakura learned over and gave him a goodnight kiss on his lips before lying back down.

"Goodnight, Sasuke-kun."

"Aa..."

That night they slept peacefully together. Sakura fell fast asleep first and the Uchiha took note of this when her breath was smooth and calm. Her angelic face was calm with her lips slightly parted as breath. Sasuke turned onto his side and wrapped his left arm possessively around her small waist. As if she was still awake, Sakura snuggled closer to the warmth of his well define body.

—xXx—

Rumors began to spread around about Sasuke and Sakura the next day. Since they were only seen in the morning and evening when the Sound ninjas brought food to them, no one knew what they were really doing. What that one Sound kunoichi saw and told to others was beginning to stray.

"Did you hear one of the kunoichis walked in on them to bring them food while they were doing…you know…that? They mustn't really care about privacies."

"Their room must reek with the stench of sex."

"What man wouldn't be tempted to take that pinked haired beauty? She's beyond perfect!"

"Who would have thought the Uchiha actually had hormones."

"Sasuke-sama only chooses the best and she's way better than our Sound kunoichis in both looks and skills."

"Does that mean the trick she pulled was actually true and Sasuke-sama didn't want anyone to know?"

For the week they were given off by Orochimaru, Sasuke and Sakura spent most of their time training and trying to learn the new jutsus. They trained outside, away from the base to avoid unnecessary attention and interruptions. One thing the outdoors provided was a large open space unlike the dojo. They would begin when the sun raised and end when it was beginning to set.

During their training, with the help of Sakura, Sasuke's chakra control improved. He was able to conserve his chakra better than before. He helped her increase her stamina and speed, but it still didn't match up with his own. Her control over the curse seal became better that she was able to handle half transformation.

The Uchiha couldn't help but wonder if her transformation went on further. Her appearance looked very simple; her body didn't produce another limb nor did her skin change texture. There must be a reason to her incomplete transformation if there was more to the seal's abilities.

All the fire and lightning jutsus were easy for Sasuke to master. Though elemental ninjutsu wasn't Sakura's strongest point, she was able to get all the water based jutsus down without any problems. For the other elements, they were able to master the basic things and gradually improved.

Sakura wouldn't allow their selves to go beyond their own limit. She was afraid that Orochimaru would try to pull something when they were low on energy and chakra.

On their last day, the two young sannins spent half the day sparing and the rest enjoying the peace around. After the rumor began to spread, it has difficult to have peace and quiet in the base. They were under the shade a large tree provided. Sakura was sitting with her back against a tree while Sasuke laid his head on her lap. She ran her fingers through his raven hair as she stared down at his clam expression. It looked as if the male was sleeping, but he wasn't, he was only closing his eyes.

"Ne Sasuke-kun," Sakura asked to break the silence. "I've been wondering, who knows more ninjutsu you or Kakashi-sensei?"

The Uchiha said nothing and he felt the girl shift a bit. Sasuke opened his eyes slighting and saw Sakura was seeking an answer from him.

"It's obvious or I wouldn't be called a sannin," Sasuke said monotone, closing his eyes.

"Someone's arrogant."

"If I'm not, then we will go though that stupid bell test against Kakashi to prove it."

Sakura smiled; Sasuke hadn't forgotten their genin days when the two of them and Naruto became a team under the supervision of Kakashi.

Sakura let a small giggle escape her mouth. "Just like our genin days? It wouldn't be hard to get the bells with Naruto's help this time."

Sasuke crooked an eyebrow in confusion. "All the dobe will do is cause trouble and make a fool of himself," Sasuke said monotone. "Just like when we first became a team."

"That's where you're wrong Sasuke-kun. The two of us went through that test against Kakashi-sensei and were able to get the bells easily. And it was all thanks to Naruto."

"You've got to be kidding me?"

Sakura told him about the little training she and Naruto had with Kakashi after Naruto had returned from his training with Jiraiya. She didn't miss a signal detail of what occurred; Naruto's improvement, Kakashi unable to read his Icha Icha book, and her surprise for both males. She tried to suppress laughing out when she was explaining Naruto's plan to get the bells, only to have fits of giggles escape her cherry lips.

"To think Kakashi had a weakness like that," Sasuke said smirking. "And the dobe actually went near that book and read it." He brought his hand up to rub his temples, as if absorbing the information was giving him a headache. "The dobe spends too much time with Jiraiya and Kakashi, and now he's becoming perverted like them."

Sakura stroked his hair back and giggled. "The three of us do take after Kakashi in a way."

Sasuke chuckled a little. "Yeah, and it's a good thing the dobe took the perverted side of Kakashi."

To Sakura, it seemed Sasuke was actually enjoying himself for once. It was like he forgot about his revenge and was actually a normal person with emotions. She was gladded she was able to see that side of him instead of the stoic ice cube he usually was.

Sakura was deep in thought about Sasuke, that she didn't notice him get up and call her.

"Sakura, we better head back now."

She snapped out of her daze and looked up to meet his gaze.

"Hai."

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**That's the end of this chapter. Hoped you liked it, because I was out of ideas for this chapter. I think I made Sasuke a bit OOC. Well you know the drill after reading, please review!**

**AUTHOR NOTE: This chapter has been revised.**


	11. Chap 11: A Fan Girl's Desire

**Konichiwa minna-san. Arigatou to all of those that reviewed. I love all the feedbacks. ARIGATOU! Gomen for any mistakes in my writing.**

**Anyways, I hope there isn't any confusing on the plot because it's like several different plots put together. Yes it sounds confusing and I lost myself…hehe. Some reviewers stated they liked Sasuke at the end of the last chapter because he was 'normal' for once…well that really surprised me. I know it seems like Sakura is turning evil, but she's not, so no need to worry. Now on with the story! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this fanfic.**

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Chapter 11: A Fan Girl's Desire

Following morning after their week of, Sasuke woke up first. The room was dark, but he was able to make things out from the light that escaped through the sides of the wooden door. He tilted his head down slightly to look at his cherry blossom. Sakura was still fast asleep; her head rested on his chest, her silky pink hair was spread around, and her face tranquil.

Everything felt right at that moment, like all his problems had just disappeared. The idea of revenge was vaguely there and the warm feeling he had last felt coming from his mother was present again, but this time, it was stronger. That wasn't the only thing, he had a special lovely kunoichi in his arms; a young woman who he would never let go of. She was the only person that made him feel complete and filled the void in his life. He was deep in thought about Sakura, but was interrupted when he heard a knock on the door.

'_Who the hell would bother me this early?!'_

Even thought he was awake, Sasuke was pissed; he hated to be woken up or bothered early in the morning and he had told that to everyone. He gently yet slowly moved Sakura so not to wake her as he moved off the bed. He placed the blanket over her body to keep her warm then went over to see who was at the door.

The Uchiha didn't bother putting on his haori; he was already half dressed and that was good enough for him. He opened the door, revealing on the other side the Sound kunoichi Yen. She looked up at Sasuke to meet his gaze and started to blush; she had gotten the opportunity to see him shirtless.

"What the hell do you want?" he asked in a cold voice.

Yen snapped back into reality. "Umm…gomen nasai Sasuke-sama…" She was very shy for that moment when she saw him. "I brought you some things Orochimaru-sama had ordered me to bring to you."

In her arms, she was carrying clean clothing, weapons, and supplies. Yen had volunteered to bring the things to Sasuke, hoping to get to the bottom of the rumors involving him and Sakura. She was getting sick of hearing it and wanted to correct the rumors that were spreading. Being a kunoichi from Sound, defeat from an enemy was unacceptable.

He grabbed the stuff and tosses it to the side of the room. When he shifted his body, Yen caught sight of pink lying on his bed. Immediately she knew that it was Sakura; there was no one else in the Sound base that wore that specific color. The blush on her face disappeared, her eyes narrowed slightly and her eyes brows frown. Sasuke didn't pay any attention to Yen's change in expression; all he wanted was for her to get out so he could enjoy more time in bed.

From what Yen could distinguish in the dark was that Sakura's backside was facing her. The blanket covered her from her thighs up to her chest. The clothes Sakura was wearing was short and revealing to her dislike, but the pink haired kunoichi only wore it when in the room. Yen didn't know Sakura was clothed and assumed that Sakura was naked under the sheets. Her lax form pissed the Sound kunoichi off; it reminded Yen of the hoax Sakura had pull on her and the other kunoichis when they first met her in the dojo. Could the so called hoax actually be true or were her eyes deceiving her? Were the rumors actually true?

"Sasuke-sama, is that-" Yen wanted to ask, but was cut off by Sasuke.

"Leave now."

Sasuke just slammed the door at the kunoichi's face, not caring whether the girl was in the way or not. The loud noise echoed through the halls, disturbing anyone that had been asleep still. The pink haired kunoichi on the bed groaned from the disturbance as she shifted on the bed. She curled her legs up to get into a better sleeping position, but it was futile. Unable to sleep any more, Sakura woke up from her peaceful slumber. She sat up and saw an irritated Sasuke walking toward her.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said. Her voice was low, but the Uchiha heard her perfectly. She rubbed her eyes to get them to wake. "Is there something wrong?"

"Stupid kunoichi can't leave me alone," Sasuke muttered under his breath as he sat down next to her.

She heard him and smiled slightly. Sakura knew he wasn't referring to her, but she wanted to tease him a bit to see how he would react.

"Then I'll leave you alone," Sakura said teasing him, as she crawled to get off the bed.

When her feet were about to touch the ground, a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her back on the bed. She felt her shoulders come in contact with his chest and her head on the crook of his neck.

"Who said _you_ could go?" Sasuke said in a cold tone as he began to trail kisses down her neck.

"Sasuke-kun, it's kind of early for this…" She let a moan escape her mouth before continuing. "We should…"

Sakura stopped talking when she felt Sasuke's cold hand touching her stomach and moving up slowly. The tank top she wore was being raised up as his hand traveled higher along her body. Her face flushed a bright pink, her body tensed up, and chills began to travel throughout her body. When he reached the cloth of her bra, his fingers slowly glided between the piece of cloth and her soft ivory colored skin. Her eyes seem to be lost in a daze as she closed them, melting into his sensational touch. He continued to entertain himself with her body and pleasure her at the same time, wanting to see how he could make his blossom feel from his touch. He ran his fingers over her nipples then gave her breast a light squeeze; the dark haired man earned a moan from her lips as she arched her back toward him.

Sasuke stopped and removed his hand. Sakura whimpered; she felt intoxicated from his touch and wish he would continue to make her feel the high no drug or man could ever bring her. Seeing this, Sasuke could only smirk at her reaction. He dug his face into her hair as his hand rewrapped around her waist. Sakura lay back onto his chest, with her head against the crook of his neck.

"You really do hate them, don't you?" she whispered.

"Hn," Sasuke answered as he lay back down on the bed, pulling Sakura down with him.

Sakura could only give him a warm smile before placing her head on his chest. She ran her slender fingers along his well toned chest then began to draw circles with her finger. Getting a bit annoyed by her action, Sasuke grabbed her wrist and flipped them over. He used his left arm to prop himself up from crushing Sakura.

"That's annoying Sakura," Sasuke said, receiving a pout from Sakura. Then a smirk made his way across his lips. "You know, it's still kind of early," Sasuke said with a seducing voice.

He freed her wrist and let his fingers trailed up and down her figure. Sakura started to giggle a little when his fingers touched a certain area of her side. An evil smirk made its way across his face knowing that it was most likely her ticklish spot.

"Sasuke-kun, stop it…" Sakura said between fits of giggle. "...I'm ticklish there."

Upon hearing the words from her mouth, Sasuke tickle her even more. Sakura bit her lips from laughing out, but bits of laughter escaped her cherry lips. She tried to stop him by grabbing his arm, but Sakura was having a hard time keeping a solid grip on his arm.

"What if I don't want to…Sa-ku-ra?"

"Please…Sasuke-kun…this isn't…fair…" Sakura said giggling.

When he saw Sakura had about enough, he stopped and claimed her lips with his. She let a moan escape and wrapped her arms around his neck. Sasuke withdrew from their passionate kiss and flopped down at her side with his arms around her body. She had never imaged the Uchiha to be somewhat playful, but Sakura was really enjoying every moment she had with him.

They stayed like that for awhile before getting ready. What they didn't know was that Yen was still at the door and saw everything through a small crack. Her 'Sasuke-sama' was no longer hers, but Sakura's.

'_Why is it her? It's supposed to be me in his arms!"_

She saw how Sasuke was all over the pink haired kunoichi that it discussed her to see that he chose Sakura over her.

As she headed to her own room, Yen thought of way to get rid of Sakura._ 'Sasuke-sama will be mine!'_

—xXx—

Sasuke and Sakura headed to the dojo to start off the day with a warm up spar against each other. When they arrived, the place was empty expect for Orochimaru and Kabuto.

"Sasuke-kun, Sakura-chan," said Orochimaru with an amused voice. "I trust both of you have done some bonding during your break and maybe tried some of the new jutsus."

The snake sannin was looking at Sakura with a creepy grin plastered in his lips. He must have heard the rumors and assumed an heir was developing within her. Sasuke saw how Orochimaru was looking at Sakura and got angry.

"Get to the point already Orochimaru," Sasuke growled. His patient with the man was wearing out quickly.

"I want the both of you to spar against each other and don't hesitate to hold back." An evil smile grew on Orochimaru's face. "I want to see how strong you are."

—xXx—

Sound ninjas were coming into the dojo to begin their own training, but they were drawn to watch the fight between Sasuke and Sakura. After watching a few minutes of the battle, none of the Sound ninjas wanted to leave. Some of the Sound kunoichis that were once fan girls of Sasuke's turned to support Sakura, seeing that she wasn't an ordinary kunoichi. It got to the point that the Sound ninjas were arguing about who would win.

"Sakura-sama won't lose to him!"

"Nani, you got to be kidding. Sasuke-sama would never lose to a kunoichi!"

"Matte yo! Did you forget that both of them have the curse seal? It could be a tie!"

"Shut the hell up and watch!"

The battle was growing intense after their long taijutsu match against each other. Sakura's super human strength taijutsu scared some of the Sound shinobis but gain respect from the Sound kunoichis.

Sakura charged toward Sasuke with a chakra covered fist, aimed at his chest. The moment she swung her arm forward, Sasuke jumped away. A large creator was created the moment her hand came in contact with solid the ground.

Taking advantage from above, Sasuke began to make hand signs. When it came to using ninjutsu, their hand sign speed was so fast that the ninjas were unable to follow them.

"Katon Housenka no Jutsu!"

Sasuke blew of multiple fire balls at Sakura. She pulled out several kunais with explosive tag wrapped around the handle and threw them at the small fire balls. The moment the ball of fire came in contact with the metal weapon, an explosion went off creating a cover of black smoke.

Though it was difficult to see through the smoke, Sakura was able to tell where Sasuke was by sensing out his chakra. She quickly got behind Sasuke and threw a pretty harsh punch into his back. The force of the punch caused his body to crash into the ground. Sakura landed nearby to check on the damage of the attack, but saw that he had used a substitution.

Sakura felt the Uchiha's chakra presence behind her. Gripping her right hand tightly into a fist, she turned around to throw a punch, but her wrist was caught.

"I won't fall for the same trick twice, Sakura."

"I know, wither will I."

"Chidori Nagashi."

As the electricity hit Sakura, a puff of smoke engulfed her only to reveal a substitution.

Orochimaru was beyond impressed with their power and abilities; his plan for power was becoming a success. All he needed was for them to become stronger and raise an heir for him. But what he didn't know was that Sasuke and Sakura were holding back and weren't using any of the jutsus they learned.

Sasuke had advised Sakura not to use any new jutsus or anything Orochimaru knows nothing about. They were to fight each other and inflict actual injuries on each other so play off Orochimaru. She didn't understand why, but did what he said. She knew he had a reason, but didn't want to inform her of it yet until it was time to do so.

Yen had just entered the dojo and saw the huge crowd watching the battle. She saw that everyone was silently watching and asked a few of her comrades what was going on, but they told her to be quiet. Getting annoyed that no one would answer her, she decided to push her way through the mob to see what was happening for herself up in front. When she was at the clearing, Sasuke and Sakura were having another taijutsu battle.

Kicks and punches were being exchanged between the two only to have them all blocked. Three small snakes shot forward from Sasuke's right sleeve toward Sakura. She was able to avoid two of the snakes, but one caught hold of her left arm.

The snake slowly began to recoil back, pulling Sakura along the way. She tried to tug her arm away only to have the snake tighten its grip. She knew cutting it wouldn't do her any good and let the Uchiha pull her in. She kept pretending to struggles as she thought up a plan to attach Sasuke.

The moment Sakura was in attaching distance, she ran her right pointing finger along Sasuke's right arm. There was a trail of smoke and followed her finger and the Uchiha's sink began to burn like hell. The snake around her arm uncoiled itself and recoiled back into Sasuke.

Sakura jumped away from the Uchiha; she had just landed a series of blows that stopped his chakra flow in his arm and strain a few of his muscles. He flexed his arm a bit, but it didn't doing him any good. Who would have thought that something so simple could cause that much damage? She inwardly smiled at Sasuke's expression when he looked at her; his eyes narrowed slightly at her with a brow crocked. Sakura charged toward him, ready to perform the same attack again.

She was only relying on taijutsu to get an attack in. Sasuke was struggling to avoid anymore of those blows; they had to beat each other a bit to keep up the show in order to deceive everyone. He grabbed hold of her wrist and delivered a light kick to her abdomen. Thought the attack was small, it looked harsh toward everyone else. He knew that Sakura was capable in healing their wounds, but he was worried she wouldn't have enough chakra to keep going on against him.

Yen watched with worry as Sasuke failed to avoid a blow to the chest. He staggered back a bit, coughing as Sakura stood up straight. The pink haired kunoichi reached into her pouch and pulled out two kunais, one in each hand. She twirled them on her finger than held on to them, ready to charge at Sasuke.

'_At this point, Sasuke-sama is going to die at the hands of the kunoichi!'_ Yen thought to herself. _'If I save Sasuke-sama, I will finally have him as my own!'_

Just seeing each blow, she assumed that the battle was to the death. When it seemed to her that Sakura was going in for the final blow, Yen quickly stepped in.

"Stay away from Sasuke-sama, bitch!" Yen yelled and threw some dust into Sakura's emerald eyes.

Unable to see and react to the coming attack in time, Sakura was kicked forcefully in her abdomen, causing her to stagger back a bit. With that to her advantage, Yen drew out several kunais that had some sort of liquid dripping off the blade and hurled them into Sakura's legs. The pink haired kunoichi fell to the ground as a scream of pain escaped her. She gripped her legs; the pain was beginning to become unbearable. Two Sound ninjas that were close by went over to Sakura.

"Sakura-sama, are you alright?" a kunoichi asked as she headed over to check on the sannin.

"What were you thinking Yen?! Are you trying to kill Sakura-sama?!" another said.

Sakura pulled out the kunais and tossed them aside. She couldn't heal herself for she had extinguished most of her chakra. She tried to stand, put found her leg numb.

"What the hell did you do to me?" Sakura looked at Yen. The curse mark was beginning to spread on her body and a murderous aura glowed around her.

"The kunais had a paralyzing poison on it." Yen let a sneer grow on her face as she pulled out another kunai from her pouch. "This way you won't be able to defend yourself from any of my attacks."

"What are you doing Yen-san?" the kunoichi said as she tried to help Sakura.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm helping Sasuke-sama from being killed by this slut!" Yen yelled at her fellow kunoichi as she pointed at Sakura. "She was about to kill him and you're supporting her!"

"Who said I was going to be killed?" Sasuke's cold voice asked.

Yen turned around and found herself being stared at by all her fellow ninjas. Kabuto went over to examine the damage that Sakura had just received.

With the chakra the curse seal was providing her, Sakura drew out the poison from her system. In her right hand, there floated the dark liquid. She disposed of it by dropping the liquid onto the ground for it to adsorb.

She let the marking recede back as Kabuto used his own chakra to make sure all the poison was out. Lucky the poison usually wore out after a few minutes, but due to the amount Yen had used, it would be fatal without any antidote if the poison wasn't removed quickly.

"It's nothing serious, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto said, as he stopped his examination and turned to face the snake sannin. "Sakura-san has already taken the poison out and isn't in need of an antidote." He looked at the Sound kunoichi by Sakura. "Help Sakura-san back to her room," the male medic said.

Orochimaru left the dojo with a little disappointment because the fight was stopped. The Sound kunoichi placed Sakura's arm over her shoulder to help support her back to the room she shared with the Uchiha.

"Why did you interfere?" Sasuke asked as he gave Yen a death glare.

"Sasuke-sama, she was about to kill you if I didn't step in!" Yen said with full confidence.

"We were ordered to spar against each other. Why would she kill me?" Sasuke said unemotionally as he walked pass the kunoichi. "You're a disgrace as a ninja. You should have never intruded in this battle. It didn't involve you or anyone else."

Yen had been insulted by Sasuke, again. All the other Sound ninjas around had to agree with what he said.

"How the hell should I have known you were sparing!" Yen yelled at the top of her lungs. She couldn't take being insulted and wanted to defend what she did. "Hell! Your strikes were all real and powerful!"

"Isn't that what _you_ do when you spar against people?" Sasuke said as he heading toward the exit back to his room to check on Sakura.

Yen was left alone and had a broken sprit. No matter what she tried, Sasuke won't acknowledge her as a strong kunoichi.

"WHAT DO YOU FIND IN THAT BITCH THAT YOU DON'T SEE IN ME?"

She had blurred it out without thinking. All the Sound ninjas looked at her then turned their heads to look at Sasuke. He kept on walking and didn't bother to turn his head back at the kunoichi.

'_Something you will never understand nor have.'_

When Sasuke reached his room, the kunoichi that helped Sakura was leaving. She bowed to Sasuke before hurrying off to do her own things. As she passed, Sasuke noticed that the Sound kunoichi looked a bit worn-out, but didn't let it bother him. He closed the door when entering and saw Sakura walking out of the bathroom in fresh clothing and some bandages.

"Let me heal you Sasuke-kun."

Sakura sat on the bed and motioned Sasuke to sit in front of her. He did so without saying anything. With a few quick hand signs, her hand began to glow green and placed them on his shoulder. Her soothing chakra went through his body, healing all torn limb and muscle and deep wounds were reduced to minor injuries. The green glow vanished when she was done.

"I'm not fully healed Sakura."

"Well I only drained half the kunoichi's chakra for healing," Sakura said pouting as Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "She would have fainted if I took anymore."

"Hn."

"After I gain more of my chakra back, I'll finish healing you." Sakura then took the bandages and wrapped them around the remaining injuries. "For now, just use the bandages. You can't always rely on a medic to heal all our wounds."

When done, the only thing left was a minor scratch on his left cheek. With a tiny bit of chakra on her right index finger, Sakura touched the wound and ran her finger along it. The scratch healed completely and there wasn't a scar left being.

As she withdrew her hand back, Sasuke leaned over and claimed her lips. Sakura returned the kiss right away. He shifted his body to face her and wrapped his arms around her petite body. He slowing laid her down on the bed, without breaking the kiss they shared. Sakura gave him entrance to her mouth when his tongue brushed against her lips. His tongue rubbed against hers and she let out a low moan. He then parted from her lips and kissed along her jaw to her neck.

Sakura didn't know how she should react; she knew exactly what the Uchiha intended for this to lead up to. Yes she wanted this just as much as Sasuke, but she didn't want to be used; she wanted to feel love. During the time they have spent together, Sasuke has somewhat opened up a bit, just enough for her to place some trust on the Uchiha. She could only hope what they were about to do won't be regretted afterwards.

She wrapped her arms around his shoulder, her right hand getting tangled in his raven locks. Sakura placed a light kiss on his temple and let the Uchiha continue his work. When he nipped at her skin slightly, she moaned, loving the feeling he was making her fell. She felt the zipper of her shirt run down as Sasuke's free hand touched the bare skin of her flat stomach.

Sakura sensed a familiar chakra presence at the door and knew exactly who it was. She didn't want to stop what they were doing to deal with the person, but she didn't want anyone to intrude on her and Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura moaned out when he nipped at a sensitive spot. "She's at the door."

Sasuke growled in annoyance. "Just leave her."

Sasuke took the bed sheet and threw it toward the door. Pulling out two kunais, he threw them at the door, pinning the sheet against it like a curtain. It shielded the room from any unwanted eyes and covered it completely in darkness.

Yen was unable to find out what Sasuke saw in the pink haired kunoichi. Her key to understanding what was special about Sakura was now locked away.

* * *

**That's the end of this chapter and it seems somewhat crappy to me. I'll try to update very soon. Please review.**

**Well I've been going through how many chapters this fanfic might possibly have and I've come to the conclusion that there's going to be over twenty chapters. Yes, you read right, OVER 20! I hope I have the continuing support of all fellow readers and reviewers until the very end of this fanfic. Until next chapter, Ja!**

**AUTHOR NOTE: This chapter has been revised.**


	12. Chap 12: Something Special, Out of the S

**Konichiwa minna-san! Arigatou to all of those that reviewed and for all the feedbacks, I love it. Yes there are some minor mistakes in my writing, gomen.**

**Gomen if the last chapter sparing scene between Sasuke and Sakura was confusing. For the other upcoming fight scenes, I will try my best to write them in full detail. I went through the reviews for the pervious chapter and I couldn't help but laugh. Yes I made the fan girl, my OC, Yen a pain the in ass…blah, blah, blah. Several reviewers have requested that I have Yen killed off…and I shall grant that request! Enjoy!**

**WARNING: If you hate LEMONS, skip the beginning of this chapter. You've been warned!!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this fanfic.**

* * *

Chapter 12: Something Special, Out of the Snake's Grasp

With the door covered off, Sasuke went back to nibble on Sakura's sweet skin around her neck. He didn't want any interruptions; all he wanted was the young and pure cherry blossom. As he placed butterfly kisses upon her neck, Sakura took the time to put a soundproof jutsu on the room. They didn't need the entire base to hear what they were doing, especially Orochimaru. With her hands above Sasuke's head, she made a few hand seals and the jutsu was in placed. Sakura felt cold suddenly and then noticed that she was only clothed in her thin light color undergarments. She didn't even notice Sasuke had undressed her without her noticing!

'_How does he do this so fast?' _Sakura thought to herself.

He hand roamed her back to unsecure the piece of clothing on her chest. When he felt the hooks, Sasuke was about to unclip her bra, but Sakura flipped them over so she was on top, straddling his waist. The young kunoichi maybe shy, but she wasn't going to let him keep dominance have all the fun. She leaded down; her pink locks fell around her head and brushing against his face. She swept her lips over his then kissed him passionately as she removed the haori he wore. She broke the kiss to sit up, but only to have it reclaimed by Sasuke's when he sat up. She moaned into the kiss when Sasuke's tongue slid between her cherry lips and entered her mouth to taste every inch on her. Her slender fingers ran down his chest, memorizing the detail of his defined body. Her fingers reached his pants then the purple stash. Sakura undid the knot and pulled off the stash hastily, tossing it down to the ground carelessly. Sasuke parted from her lips and nibbled along her neck; Sakura was working on undoing the male's pants as he left visible red love bits on her skin.

"Sasuke-kun…" she moaned out, throwing her head back.

He lay Sakura back down, leaving more love bits pass her collar bone while kicking off his pants. His hands touched her flat stomach then wondered to her back and undid her bra. Sakura was alarmed by the sudden gesture that she attempted to cover herself, but Sasuke entwined her fingers with his and held them down beside her head. She was nervous that her appearance would trigger the Uchiha to stop, but to him, she was perfect and beautiful. He leaned down until his hard tone chest pressed down on her torso.

"There is no need to be shy Sakura," he whispered hotly into her ear, causing her to blush.

Sasuke licked the shell of her ear, causing her to shift her head away to have him stop. He smirked and kissed down her jaw line, down her neck, and on to the flesh above her breasts. She began to moan softly as he nipped and sucked on her skin, leaving as many marks as he could on her ivory skin. Wanting more, he trailed his hot saliva down to her left breast. He kissed her peak then began to flick his tongue over it, moistening it with his hot saliva. Sakura was dazed; the pleasure she was going through was unimaginable. He then took her nipple in his mouth and sucked on it hungrily. She felt a certain part of her body beginning to grow hot and plead for the torture to stop. Soft moans left her again as Sasuke switched over to her over breast, giving it fair treatment as he untangled his fingers from hers.

Her hands here by her head, despite beginning freed from the Uchiha's grasp. Her breaths were gasping for air and he inhaled. Small beads of sweat were beginning to form on her body; her cheeks flushed pink and her eyes half lidded.

Sasuke moved so that his eyes were leveled with her breasts, his left arms supporting his weight. He licked the valley between her breasts, clouding her mind with pleasure as he literally ripped her panties off her body. He smirked at her naked form as she stared back at him, completely dazed.

Sasuke parted her legs open with his own leg and rubbed his thumb against her labium. She was becoming aroused from his gentle touch; he smirked when he felt her slowly becoming wet. He ran his right index finger over her forbidden territory then inserted his finger into her core. She arched her back slightly and moaned. He inserted another finger into her. She arched her back a little more moaning loudly, her hands gripping on to the bed sheets beneath her. He slowly pulse them in and out, stopping at times just to tease her, making her whimper. Seeing that she would reach her climax soon, he withdrew his fingers from her body. There was some of her bodily fluid on his fingers and licked up her juice. Her face flushed bright pink as she watched him.

She closed her legs a bit, feeling embarrassed. Sakura leaned into him and kissed him lightly on his lips, tasting a bit of her own fluid. Her hands traced his chest then traveled down his body. She slender fingers brushed against his harden member through the cloth of his boxers. Her cheeks grew darker when she realized how hard he was. Her small action earned her a groan from the man above her.

Sasuke quickly removed his boxers and positioned himself at her opening. "Sakura…" He looked deep into her eyes to ensure that she wanted this. There was no turning back once they proceeded on; the damaged would be permanent. Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down. Their lips brushed against each other as she whispered. "Make me yours, Sasuke-kun… deflower me… I want no one else but you…"

She had saved herself for the one she loved as this time and now it was time for her to be claim. He felt somewhat pained to be doing this, but they both wanted it. This was his first time and he didn't know what he was doing, but his body seemed to know what to do exactly. He would claim her as his own and no one would ever be able to taint her like he was going to.

Sasuke took her lips for a harsh yet passionate kiss as he entered her, pushing himself straight in, breaking through the virgin wall of her innocence. She broke the kiss letting a shriek of pain escape her mouth when her barrier shattered, her fingers digging into her lover's back. A few tears gathered in her eyes, but she didn't let them fall. Knowing that it would be painful for her, he waited for her to get use to him. He nibbled on her skin around her neck, his hands running gently up and down her curves; her body beginning to relax slowly. He wanted their first time to be special.

"Sasuke-kun…go ahead…" she whispered very low into his ear.

He stopped what he was doing and looked up at her; she bit down on her lower lip and nodded her head slightly. Sasuke pulled out half way then drove back into her soaking core. She winced slightly at the pain, but didn't want him to stop. He began to thrust into her in a slow manner before he began to quicken his pace. She felt pain, but it soon passed and turned into sheer bliss. Her fingers dug into his back as she moaned out in pleasure, arching her back, wanting more. Her moans became louder as he thrust harder. Their breaths were becoming pants, sweat dripped from their bodies and onto the bed sheets they laid upon.

Sasuke groaned from the pleasure Sakura made him feel. No other woman can ever replace her, no matter how much they try; this one special cherry blossom was one of a kind and she belonged only to the Uchiha Sasuke.

With one last fast hard thrust, both reached their climax. Sakura came screaming Sasuke's name in pure ecstasy as her orgasm hit hard; he grunted as his seeds spilled into her. After his release, Sasuke pulled out from Sakura and fell on top of her from weariness. A small squeal escaped from her mouth from the extra weight that was on top of her. They were panting heavily to catch their breath, both covered in sweat.

Their body felt sticky against one another's and their hair stuck on their face. Sasuke's face was buried in the crook of her neck, his breath tickling her skin a bit. Her face was flushed pink and he only had a slight blush on his own cheeks.

He rolled off Sakura and laid at her side, pulling her in closer to him. She rested her head on the crook of his neck, snuggling closer to the warmth of her love's body. His arms were wrapped protectively around her body as he drew a blanket over their exposed bodies.

"Aishiteru…Sasuke-kun…" Sakura whispered before she drifted off into sleep.

He placed a light kiss on her forehead. "I know…me too, Sakura."

—xXx—

When Sakura woke up, the sun was beginning to set. She was a bit startled by the position she was in, but remembered what had happened. Sakura looked up at Sasuke, his face was slightly covered by his raven hair and his facial expression was calm.

'_I feel a bit ashamed of myself,'_ Sakura thought to herself as she moved the strands of hair away from Sasuke's face. _'Yet I feel happy.'_

'_**Let's just hope you're not pregnant,'**_ inner Sakura said.

She brushed his cheeks gently so not to wake him then kissed him lightly on the lips. Sakura sat up slowly trying not to wake Sasuke as she did so.

'_I should just let him sleep.'_

When she stood up and walked over to the bathroom, she bit her lower lip to keep herself from cursing at the pain she felt between her legs. It was unbearable at times, but she had to deal with it. She kept asking herself whether it was natural or not.

'_Is this pain supposed to be normal after my first time? Would it have killed him to be gentler with me?'_

She closed the door gently, but not all the way because it would make a loud clip sound if she did. Sakura turned on the water to let it reach the warm temperature she wanted as she examined herself in the mirror. Her neck, shoulders, and chest had little red marks. _'When did this happen?'_ She was so clouded with pleasure that she hadn't noticed all the love bites Sasuke had given her. Not wanting to bother with it any more, Sakura just stepped into the warm shower.

The echo of splashing water woke Sasuke up from his sleep. He sat up running a hand through his wild raven hair.

'_It's about time I took care of things here, but there's still one thing I have to do.'_

He got off the bed and went over to the desk, searching through one of the drawers. When he found what he was looking for, he held it up to eye level. It was a necklace with the Uchiha crest and a red heart gem.

* * *

"_Oka-san," a 4-year-old Sasuke called out._

"_What is it Sasu-chan," Mikoto answered, calling her son by a nick name as she placed the dish in her hand to dry._

"_That necklace you have around your neck, where did you get it?" he asked curiously._

"_This is a special necklace." Mikoto sat down beside her son. "Your oto-san gave it to me." Sasuke started at his mother, telling her to continue. "Well, when you're older, you'll find a special girl you really love and want to spend your life with." She then gave her son a warm smile. "And when you do, you'll give her a necklace similar to this one."_

"_Really?" the young Uchiha asked._

_Mikoto nodded happily to her son's question. "It's tradition. But you have to wait until you're a lot older. Okay, Sasu-chan?" Sasuke nodded, understanding. "I know you'll find someone special." She said giving her son a hug. "And when you do, don't let her go."_

* * *

Sasuke's eyes slightly sadden at the memory; he was no longer able to see the smiling face of his mother after that night. Though what Mikoto said to him so many years ago was true; he did find someone special and he wasn't going to let her go.

'_**Are you going to give that necklace to her?'**_

'_Aa…I don't know how much time I have with her.'_

Sasuke headed to the bathroom with the necklace in his hand. He smirked when he saw that Sakura hadn't closed the door all the way. He entered quietly and set the necklace on the counter by the sink. He peered into the shower and saw Sakura letting the water hit her face and run down her body. He stepped in behind her and wrapped his arms around her small body.

"Want some company?" he whispered into her ear.

"Hmm…" Sakura turned around to face him, with a faint blush visible on her cheeks. "…it would be nice…"

Sasuke insisted that he washed her, and she complied, doing the same with him afterwards. When the last bit of soap was washed off their bodies, she looked deep into his eyes and saw he was troubled by something.

"Is there something wrong, Sasuke-kun?"

"I won't stand for it anymore, Sakura. There's nothing left here and I still have to kill him."

Sakura knew what Sasuke was talking about. Sasuke alone was stronger than Orochimaru and he still had to revenge his clan's death.

"What will you do afterwards?" Sakura asked as her eyes gazed away from his. She hoped that he would return back to Konoha.

Sasuke lifted Sakura's chin so that their eyes met and brought his face close to hers. "I know it's kind of fast, but….would you do me the honor of becoming my bride and an Uchiha?"

Sakura's eyes widen, surprised by the sudden question. A smile formed on her lips as she cupped Sasuke's cheeks.

"Yes, I will."

As the water showered on their bare bodies, Sasuke placed his lips against Sakura's. His left arm wrapped around her waist as his right hand held her head. Sakura shifted her arms around his neck and pulled him closer till their body was pressed against each other. He licked her lips and she opened to let Sasuke in. She tasted so sweet to him that he craved for more. As she pulled back leisurely and looked into his calm loving eyes.

Sasuke began to trail light kisses down her neck and nibble on her smooth skin every so often. She let out a quiet moan as their body grew even closer. He let his lips brush against Sakura's before kissing her again. He gently pushed her against the cold wet wall, breaking the kiss and going back to her neck once again. When he was about to go pass her collar bone, Sakura stopped him and brought his head up to look into his onyx eyes.

"Not now Sasuke-kun."

'_**Someone hadn't gotten enough,'**_ inner Sakura said.

'_**She just had to stop you,'**_ Sasuke's inner self sighed.

Sasuke just smirked and gave her a light kiss on her lips. "We better finish our task here and then go after him. Afterwards," he whispered into her ear. "We'll have the rest of our lives together."

She smiled up at him then turned off the water and they both stepped out. Sasuke wrapped a towel around his waist and went over to get the necklace on the counter.

"Sakura…" The said person turned around after wrapping a towel to cover her figure. "Close your eyes." She looked confused at the young man. "Trust me."

She took in a deep breath then closed her eyes; Sasuke placed the necklace around her neck, secured it, and then moved her wet hair away. He led her to the front of a mirror so that she could see it.

"Now open them."

Sakura open her eyes and saw the necklace. "It's beautiful, Sasuke-kun." She ran her fingers along the chain and the jewel. "Arigatou."

He wrapped his arms around her waist. "It's tradition that an Uchiha wife receives it after her wedding, but I want you to have it now."

Sakura turned to face him, tears in her eyes. "Aishiteru." She took his lips in a kiss.

—xXx—

Even thought it was late in the evening, some of the Sound ninjas were still training. Sasuke and Sakura entered the dojo and they were dressed in their usual clothing. Sakura had her pink sleeveless shirt and her gloves on. The Leaf head band was up too. Sasuke wore his white haori and dark pants with the extra piece of clothing, but didn't have the purple stash tied on anymore. The stash was replaced with a navy blue one.

"Sure you want handle this by yourself?" Sasuke asked as he looked at all the Sound ninja in the room.

"Hai," Sakura answered as she let the curse seal partially spread. "I'll meet you there afterwards."

"Don't waste too much chakra on them."

With a chakra filled fist, Sakura punched the ground and created a huge crack. Several of the Sound ninjas that were caught in the area fell in. All the ninjas were shocked, Sakura had turned on them and Sasuke just stood there watching. The chakra level began to horrify the ninjas as Sakura let the curse seal consume her and change her.

"Sakura-sama has turned on us!"

"We have to fight her! Don't let your guard down!"

All the ninjas grabbed their weapons and got into a fighting stand as Sakura walked out of the hallway. Five ninjas began to charge at her hoping that at least one of them would be able to land a hit.

"This is barely a warm up," Sakura said as she made a few hand seals. Knowing how things would turn out, Sasuke turned around and walked into the hallway.

"Doton Shinjuu Zanshuu no Jutsu."

A hand shot up in front of the charging shinobis from the ground grabbing on their legs. The hands belonged to her clones that were hidden beneath the ground. The clones pulled the captured ninjas down into the ground, up to their chin. They the clones emerged from the ground and charged at the remaining Sound ninjas.

Sakura leaned against the wall, watching her clones do all the work. The clones were only using basic taijutsu, without any chakra build up, and none of the Sound ninjas could get a punch in. The ninjas that had their body beneath the ground struggled to get up, but weren't making any progress.

'_**They called themselves the best of the shinobi villages and yet they can't beat simple clones! That's just embarrassing.'**_

'_I better just finish everything off now. There's no point in letting it drag on.'_

As her clones disappeared, Sakura made a few hand signs then took a deep breath. "Doku Gasu."

A large amount of poisonous gas exhaled out of her mouth. The moment the ninjas came in contact with the poison, their bodies fell to the ground. Those stuck in the ground died instantly from inhaling a large mass of the poison. When the poisonous fog cleared, Sakura saw that there were several still barely alive and decided to absorb their chakra for later use.

'_**It looks like one escaped to warn the others.'**_

'_They would most likely gather at the gates to stop us or run.'_

She let the curse seal revert to its rightful place and left into the dim hallway to meet up with Sasuke.

—xXx—

Orochimaru was in his room resting after taking some medication Kabuto made for him. The pain he felt in his arms was coming back again and it was difficult to move them around. It was peaceful until he started to cough up some blood and felt a strong and strange chakra presence nearby.

"Who's there?" he asked. He stared at the door in front of him. "Show yourself."

Suddenly a blue chakra blade came shooting threw the door aimed at his head, but Orochimaru put his arms up in front to stop it. It pierced threw his flesh and stopped an inch from his face.

'_What kind of chakra type is this?' _Orochimaru questioned himself. _'I haven't seen any elementally recomposed type like this before!'_

"I said show yourself!" he yelled out.

He heard the wood being sliced from the other side. It crumbled down to the ground, revealing en emotionless Sasuke. His left hand was held out forward with the chakra blade. In his right hand was Kusanagi drawn out and held over his right shoulder.

"I knew it would come to this one of these days," said Orochimaru as his eyes fumed with anger.

Sasuke's face stayed emotionless as the curse seal spread across half his body. "There is nothing you can teach me now." His onyx eyes changed to his Sharingan. "I won't show any mercy toward you, Orochimaru. You are weaker than me. I have no reasons to give you my body or produce one for you."

He glared at his former 'apprentice'. "What makes you think can talk to me like that after all I've done for you?"

Sasuke walked in slowly. "Your right, I came to you for power, but you wanted me because of my power, the power of the Uchiha clan. You, the genius of the legendary sannin, aren't a genius. You couldn't contain my brother Itachi and now you can't contain my power. Your genius is nothing compared to an Uchiha, you're just an average personal."

"Though you may be stronger than me, you should show some respect to you elder, to a sannin."

Sasuke forced the chakra blade more into Orochimaru's flesh to reach his face. The sannin couldn't stop the manipulated chakra from coming closer that he forced his arms to left and ended up having it pinned to the wall.

"You're the legendary snake sannin Orochimaru. I on the other hand, am the infamous snake sannin Uchiha Sasuke."

Sasuke gripped the hilt of his katana tightly and charged in with Kusanagi aimed at Orochimaru's heart. As the distance decline, Orochimaru struggled to get his arms free to escape, but it was no use. Sasuke jumped onto the bed and let sword pierced his skin, nudging in deeper each passing second. With no other choice, Orochimaru's mouth opened and something flew out.

The former body of the legendary sannin fell on the bed, lifeless. As he discharged the chakra blade, Sasuke turned around to see a huge white serpent. Its scales were white snake heads, the body was huge, and it towered over Sasuke. The face somewhat looked like Orochimaru's, but it was cracked and a bit disfigured.

"This is your true form?" Sasuke's voice was emotionless. "Transferring from one body to the next has turned you into this?"

The head charged toward Sasuke, making him jumped off the bed. Two of the snakes from the body came out at Sasuke, but the heads were cut off. The Uchiha landed on the ground and looked up at the Orochimaru. He sheathed Kusanagi, removed his shirt, and let the curse seal consume his body, slowly changing his appearance.

"I will take your body if you're not going to follow orders," a raspy chuckle escaped his throat. "That way I can still get what I want."

"I'm not your puppet any more Orochimaru. I won't die here or let you harm Sakura."

"Let me hear you say that when I take your body!" the sannin said as he prepared for an attack.

The snakes on his body shot put and began to surround Sasuke. The snakes coiled tightly around Sasuke to hold him in place, but it was no use. Suddenly snakes were flying everywhere and blood drenched anything it was by. Orochimaru cried out from the pain. There stood Sasuke, consumed by the curse seal and his claw like wings spread and not one spot of blood was on him.

"Come now, Sasuke!" Orochimaru hissed and shot his head at Sasuke, as if to eat him. "Give me your body!"

"Though the snake may dream of soaring through the sky, he is forever damned to crawl on his belly."

Orochimaru's raging expression only earned him a smirk from the Uchiha. Sasuke drew out Kusanagi to finish his job.

—xXx—

Sakura headed toward the room where Orochimaru stayed in; she was following Sasuke's chakra since she wasn't familiar with the base. She saw from the other end that Kabuto was standing in front of the door, frozen. Sasuke stepped out, without a scratch or a trace of blood on him.

"Which one are you?" Kabuto asked as Sasuke walked passed him to Sakura.

He stopped and looked back at Kabuto. After a few seconds, Kabuto's face was shocked.

"I've taken over." Sasuke said as he continued walking to Sakura.

From his back pouch, Kabuto took out two pills and ate them. "Like I'm going to let you get away with it!" He said with venom as he made several hand signs.

Kabuto rushed at Sasuke with his hands glowing blue from chakra. He was planning to attack either his spinal cord or a major chakra point by his neck. When Kabuto was about a foot away from landing his attack, Sasuke drew Kusanagi and slashed his arms. As blood pour out from the wound, his cells were already at work to heal his wound.

Seeing an opportunity to attack, in a blink of an eye, Sakura was behind Kabuto. She had built up chakra in her right hand and it was an unusual fire color red. He was too late to respond; Sakura tapped his back where his heart was located at. Kabuto fell to the ground in pain, clenching his chest.

"What did you do to him?" Sasuke asked nonchalantly as he stared at the suffering medic.

Kabuto's body began to jerk uncontrollably. Blood began to ooze out from his ears, nostril, mouth, and the corner of his eyes. His limb began to stiffen that he was barely able to move them.

"Something new I created." Sakura walked and stood at Sasuke's side. "His heart is beating faster than normal that eventually his body will die from the excess amount of blood and not enough oxygen in his body."

Not wanting to see the gruesome sight, Sasuke left with Sakura trailing not to fair behind. They left the area and headed over to their room to gather the last of their needed things. They took four canteens of water and food that would last them a little more than a week. Before leaving, Sakura went to Kabuto's lab to grab some herbs and medical supplies.

When they reached the gates that led to out of the base, there was a group of Sound ninjas there waiting. Yen stood at the front, as if she was in charge.

"Get out of the way!" Sasuke ordered.

Not one budged from their spot. Some began to tremble in fear.

Yen glared at the two in anger. "Why, why did you do this?"

"It doesn't concern many you. Now move!"

Still not one person moved out of the way. Sasuke was getting annoyed. He dropped his thing and drew out Kusanagi.

"I'll handle this," he said coldly to her.

Sakura nodded, knowing not to interfere in anyway. A few ninjas behind Yen rushed forth to attack first. Sasuke pulled out a few kunais and threw them at the Sound ninjas. He suddenly appeared in the center of the group and the ninjas around were too late to notice.

"Chidori Nagashi."

Those within a two feet radius from Sasuke were instantly it by the lightning admitted around his body. Screams of pain were heard as electricity discharge into their bodies. After several seconds, Sasuke stopped his attach and the bodies fell to the ground.

Assuming that his guard dropped, several Sound ninjas charged Sasuke from behind, but it was no use. Two large snakes from Sasuke's sleeves lunged at them, coiling the bodies like a predator would do to its prey.

Yen saw it was no use in attaching Sasuke. She then noticed Sakura standing aimlessly in front of her. Pulling out a kunai, Yen rushed behind the female sannin to attack her from behind. Sakura sensed Yen's chakra from behind and reached down to her hostler for her own kunai. Yen's attack drew closer, but Sakura still didn't draw out her kunai.

Yen was confused by Sakura's actions, but she didn't let it bother her and kept heading in for an attack. The kunai was about to connect onto its victim when another kunai stopped it.

"Stay. Away. From. Her." Sasuke said bitterly.

His eyes narrowed as he stabbed Kusanagi into Yen's heart without any hesitation then pulled it out. Her eyes were wide open as she fell backward to the ground, dead.

Sasuke sheath his blade and picked up his pack. In a blink of an eye, they were out of the base. They didn't look back and headed for their next target, Uchiha Itachi.

* * *

**Yay, I'm finally done with this lone chapter! I know Sasuke and Sakura have only been together for a little more than a week and now their engaged. Gomen if you disapproved of this happening so fast in the fanfic. If you have any questions of what some of the jutsus are, don't hesitate to ask. I don't think there's such a thing as a soundproof jutsu, I just made it up.**

**The scene between Orochimaru and Sasuke is very similar to the one in the manga, but I edited and added stuff in so that it would complement with my fanfic. Yes I had Kabuto die in a cruel way instead of having him live and transfer part of Orochimaru into his own body. I want Yen to die that way, but that would mean Sakura killing her and not Sasuke… oh well, at least she's dead. LOL!**

**That's it for now, until the next chapter! Remember to review! Dude, if there was such a thing as virtual sweets, I would hand them over to all my reviewers…. Ja!**

**AUTHOR NOTE: This chapter has been revised.**


	13. Chap 13: Found

**Konichiwa minna-san. ARIGATOU to all of those that reviewed! I love the feedbacks! Gomen for any mistakes that are in my writing.**

**Going through the reviews for the last chapter, everyone seems beyond happy that the fan girl Yen is dead, LOL, especially the way she was killed. Anyways, everyone seemed to be happy that Sasuke and Sakura are engaged, YAY!**

**This chapter has several time skips and scene change. If there's anything that's confusing, don't hesitate to ask. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this fanfic.**

* * *

Chapter 13: Found

The following morning after Sasuke and Sakura left the Sound base; Jiraiya had received an urgent letter to go to Sound. Without wasting any time, the white haired sannin went to Oto. His met with some of the people that were helping him gathering information on Orochimaru. They informed the sannin what had happened at base and brought him to take a look of the place himself.

After gathering all the information he needed, he hurried back to Konoha to pass the news on to Tsunade; she needed to know what had happened. Even thought their relation with the snake sannin had been severed, they were still once teammates.

It has been three days since the attack when the perverted sannin returned back to Konoha. Jiraiya admittedly went to the Hokage mansion to report his finding upon entering the gates of Konoha.

"Tell me you have some good news Jiraiya," Tsunade said as she finished a quick shot of sake.

"Maybe half of what I'm going to tell you is good news," he replied, entering the office through the window. "You should tell Naruto and Kakashi afterwards. They would want to know, especially Naruto."

—xXx—

Jiraiya informed the Hokage of all his findings in Oto. Thought there were things still unclear, the male sannin spoke out his thought and assumptions. She knew it was important to listen to everything, but it was difficult to do so.

Tsunade sat at her desk, looking threw ninja reports. Jiraiya stood nearby, leaning against the wall. The atmosphere in the room was awkward that neither sannins wanted to speak a word. The room was quiet until there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," the Hokage said.

The door opened and the remaining members of the of the rookie nine enter along with team Gai, Sai, Kakashi, Yamato, Kurenai, and Anko entered the office.

"I've called all of you here because important news I'm sure you would all want to hear and a mission," Tsunade started, looking up from the paperwork in front of her. "News has reached us that Orochimaru is dead."

Almost everyone's eyes widen in shock.

"Tsunade-sama, it's hardly possible that Orochimaru would die," Anko said. "I mean, he has all those forbidden jutsus. He has his ways to prolong his life."

"I know what you mean Anko, but it's true," Tsunade said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"It's been confirmed by my most reliable sources and I personally went to the base in Oto to take a look." Jiraiya moved so that he stood at the side of the large desk, facing all the shinobis. "From what was gathered, Orochimaru was killed by Sasuke. Kabuto was most likely killed by one of Sakura's medical technique."

"Does this mean they're coming back to Konoha?" Naruto asked, hoping that he would get the answer he really wanted to hear.

"We don't know Naruto. You and Kakashi know Sasuke better than anyone else here in this room and should know what his decision might be. As for Sakura, she may stay a missing ninja of Konoha, followed Sasuke, or be dead by now."

Tsunade's heart jumped at the last thing Jiraiya said; the idea of Sakura dead was unimaginable.

"Sakura-chan would go with Sasuke-teme. I'm positive about that," Naruto said confidently. "Teme would take Sakura-chan with him so that he can protect her."

"Naruto," Jiraiya said with a sigh. "You have to assume the worse too. Sasuke could have killed Sakura-" Jiraiya was cut off.

"SASUKE-TEME WOULD NEVER KILL SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto yelled out suddenly.

He was clenching his fist tightly to the point his knuckles were turning white and his finger nails dug into his skin. Kakashi placed a reassuring hand on the blonde's shoulder to calm him down, knowing what he said was true. Being the sensei of team seven, Kakashi learned a lot about his three special students. One thing that was left imbedded in his mind was no matter how they hated each other at times, they treat one another like family.

"That's enough," Tsunade said, not wanting to hear any more negative things. "Now for the mission I'm assigning."

"Missions are usually completed in a four man cell, Tsunade-sama," Ino said. "Is it really that dangerous that all of us here have to go?"

Tsunade nodded. "There may be possible encounters with Akatsuki." Right away, Naruto knew he was on the mission. "Your mission is to search and retrieve the two S-rank missing ninjas, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke."

No one spoke a word. They couldn't believe what the Hokage said their mission was. A sudden mission assigned to retrieve the two was a shock. There were many other times when Tsunade could have assigned the mission, but they didn't understand why she postponed it till now.

"The leaders of this mission are Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Anko. Naruto and Yamato will be heading out too," Tsunade said. She then turned to face the other ninjas in the room. "Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, Hyuuga Hinata, Hyuuga Neji, Tenten, Rock Lee, and Maito Gai will also be going on this mission."

"Yosh!" Lee shouted with his thumb up, standing in his good guy pose. "I, Rock Lee, swear that I'll bring the beautiful cheery blossom Sakura-san back to Konoha. Then shall she fall in love with me!"

"Go Lee, my youthful student!" Gai said, giving him the thumbs up.

Everyone just stared at the two idiots. The male Hyuuga and the weapon mistress groaned in annoyance; how in the world did they end up in the same team as them? If everyone wasn't so tense, Gai and Lee would have been thrown out the window by now.

"I don't see how this grouping will get them back," Ino said.

Shikamaru thought over the Hokage's decision of chosen ninjas for the mission and fully understood her plans. "Actually Ino, it just might just work," he said turning to face his teammate. "It would be six against one or five against one if you and Hinata only play the role of a medic. Besides we have two sannins, two ANBU trained ninjas, a Hyuuga prodigy, and my genius."

"Not to mention two of the best taijutsu masters!" Lee yelled out.

"But Sasuke was the prodigy of the rookie nine!" Ino yelled out. "He and forehead girl were at the top of our class when it came to brains when you were sitting on your ass sleeping."

"Troublesome woman…" Shikamaru let out a sigh before speaking. "That's why Tsunade-sama chose certain people to go on the mission, to level out the playing field against Sasuke and Sakura. Yamato-sensei and Tenten would mostly be guarding you and Hinata because you're our only medics."

"That is correct Nara," Tsunade said. "Since Kakashi has his ninja dogs, the backup team will have Akamaru, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino so they have a chance of tracking you if things go wrong. They will be sent out in search for your team if I do not hear back from you in ten days. Sai, Akimichi Chouji, Shizune and Kurenai will also be in the backup team."

The room fell silent; the Hokage had thought things out carefully before putting it into action.

"I can finally bring them back," Naruto whispered to himself. He looked up at Tsunade. "When do we leave Tsunade-baa-chan?"

"In two hours."

* * *

It has been seven days, one week since Orochimaru was killed. Sasuke and Sakura have been searching for any clues that would lead them to Akatsuki or Itachi. During their travel to search for Itachi, Sasuke and Sakura devised some plans and taught each other some things that could come in helpful.

Sakura was able to gain a little more knowledge of the Uchiha clan by asking Sasuke. If he was ever uncomfortable about something, she never forced him to talk about it. The pink haired kunoichi knew it was painful for the young Uchiha to speak of his clan, his family. They enjoyed each other's presence very much, even though Sasuke didn't really show it.

The sun was high up in the sky, shining down brightly. The heat coming from the sun made it feel very humid, but the young couple was kept cool as they walking in the woods. Sakura was getting sick of the silence that she tried to start a conversation with him. It eventually leaded to them telling each other the things they learned from their sannin sensei.

"So you know a summoning jutsu too?" Sakura asked.

"Aa…I have the marking to prove it"

"Eh? You're lying. I would know about it by now if you did."

Sasuke smirked. He walked closer to her and whispered something into her ear. "I wouldn't mind doing what we did a few days ago just to show you."

Sakura blushed bright pink; only in her depths of her mind did she picture herself being very sexually active with the Uchiha. After the first time she had made love with Sasuke, part of her really wanted him to take her again; he was the only one capable of making her feel the sensational pleasure and love she desire. His burning touch on her ivory skin, his tongue running over her chest, and his warm saliva over the love bites he gives.

'_**Enough dirty thoughts girl! Focus here!'**_

"Iie." She then turned to face him. Her innocent emerald eyes stared at his onyx ones. "Onegai, Sasuke-kun."

He didn't know why, but he would give into her whenever he gazed into her eyes. He pulled up his left sleeve and removed the arm guard. There on his forearm was the tattoo for the snake summoning. It looked like a small snake coiled on his forearm with its mouth open, just below his wrist.

She took his hand in hers. "It must have hurt when you got it."

"Hn."

She held on to his arm as they continue walking. She leaned her head against him and closed her eyes. She let him lead the ways as she enjoyed the silence between them. It felt like they were back in Konoha, strolling by a garden peacefully together. He felt happy with the cherry blossom next to him while she felt completely safe by the Uchiha.

When they reached an open field, a strong chakra presence unfamiliar to them was felt. Sakura freed Sasuke's arm and stood straight, ready for whoever was planning to attack them.

"I finally found you." A dark figure stood in front of them. "Now to get what we came here for, hmm."

When the figure came into view, it was a ninja with blond hair tied into a high ponytail with his bangs covering his left eye and wore the coat of Akatsuki. His appearance looked more like a female's, but this Akatsuki member was a male.

"Deidara," Sakura said.

"Glad that you know who I am, hmm. So you're the kunoichi that killed my last partner, Akasun Sasori," Deidara said. "I never thought Sasori could be beaten by you, hmm."

Thought he didn't show it, Sasuke was impressed to hear that Sakura defeated a member of Akatsuki. He knew the cherry blossom must have fought the dead Akatsuki with someone else, but he didn't care. The only thing that mattered was she was alive after facing a ninja from the Akatsuki organization.

"Hurry up Tobi!" Deidara yelled.

"Hai, Deidara-sempai!" a voice said.

A figure appeared beside Deidara, wearing the same dark coat with red clouds. He wore a mask over his face that had an eye hole only for the right eye. His hair was a bit spiky, yet messy.

"Wow, the kunoichi was very beautiful." He then turned his attention to Sasuke. "So you're Sasuke-kun. You sure do look a lot like Itachi-san," Tobi said calmly. Sasuke glared at him and Tobi ran behind Deidara, frighten. "Damn you're scary like him too."

"Stop acting like a big baby Tobi. We better stop wasting time, hmm," Deidara said as he reached into his pouch for clay. "Now to get what Itachi-san wants, hmm."

Sasuke clenched his fist and appeared in front of Deidara rapidly, with Kusanagi drawn. Suddenly a small clay bird appeared in front of him and exploded, throwing Sasuke back.

"Sasuke-kun!"

Sakura rushed at the two Akatsuki members with her fist pumped with chakra. Deidara was the closer to attack and she aimed her fist at his gut.

"Get away Tobi!"

"Hai, sempai!" Tobi said running away to distance himself from Deidara.

As her fist made contact with Deidara's body, Sakura felt her arm being pulled in. Sakura tried to pull her fist away, but found it stuck in a clay replacement of Deidara. Before she could try to escape, the clay exploded.

When Sasuke regain consciousness of his surroundings, Sakura was on the ground, out cold and her body injured from the explosion. Deidara towered over the kunoichi's body with a smile of satisfaction on his lips.

"Tobi!" Tobi reappear beside his partner. "Take her back to Itachi-san. I'll have a little fun with the brat, hmm."

"Hai!" Tobi picked Sakura up and flung her on his shoulder. "I'm going to have to apologize to Itachi-san after this…"

Tobi turned and quickly walked into the forest with the unconscious kunoichi. Sasuke stood up, unable to see things clearly, but he recognized a pink blur to be Sakura's hair. He rushed toward Tobi, only to be blocked by a hug clay bird.

"Let her go!" Sasuke yelled, with his Sharingan activated.

The curse seal spread over half his body; the Uchiha was getting pissed. The mouth on Deidara's palms spit out several of his clay bombs.

"Have some fun with these, hmm." Deidara threw his clay bombs at Sasuke. "My art is a bang!"

Sasuke's left hand glowed blue with lightning. He swung his hand and Chidori needles came out, aimed at the bombs. They hit its target and the clay bombs fell to the ground, discharged.

"NO! My art!"

"Your clay is an earth element," Sasuke said calmly removing his haori. "Unfortunately earth is weak against lightning."

"Well I don't give a damn about that," Deidara said as he reached into his pouch for more clay. "Let me see you try to escape this, hmm!"

From the mouths in his hands, clay snakes shot out and began to coil themselves around Sasuke.

"Chidori Nagashi."

Deidara broke the clay away from his hands so not to get strike by the blue lightning. The clay snakes fell to the ground as Sasuke started emotionlessly at the Akatsuki member in front of him, his Sharingan eyes slowly spinning.

A smirk made its way across Deidara's lips. "Now I have you!" Within seconds, clay began to shoot up from the ground, surrounding Sasuke. "The best art you'll ever see, hmm!"

Sasuke was stuck within a huge clay sphere. Each time he struggled, the clay would wrap itself tighter around his body. He tried to use his lightning jutsus, but found out that the clay was eating his chakra. Sasuke relaxed his body and the clay loosened its hold a bit. He needed to find a way out fast before all his chakra was eaten away and Sakura was taken too far. His eyes crimson eyes spun rapidly, creating a genjutsu around the clay sphere. He didn't know exactly what the outside surrounding was, but he had to so what he could in order to get out.

'_This better work right.'_

He changed into the second stage of the curse seal. The claw like wings emerged from his back and began to pry apart the clay behind him. As an opening began to form, Sasuke slowly pulled himself out of the sphere. With the genjutsu casted, he was able to get out without the Akatsuki member noticing.

"Now witness my masterpiece, hmm!"

'_Shit!'_ Sasuke was only half way out. With no other choice, he quickly made a hand seal._ 'Senei Jashuu!'_ Two large snakes come out from his left shoulder and coiled the closes tree, pulling Sasuke out faster.

Jumping off his clay bird, Deidara made a hand seal. The clay bird flew toward the sphere, hitting it and both exploded. The place was covered in thick gray smoke from the explosion; it took a while for it to clear out enough to see. Since the Uchiha wasn't in sight, Deidara assumed Sasuke had been blown into pieces.

"My art won!" Deidara yelled out.

The Akatsuki member felt a strong chakra presence from behind. The blond felt uncomfortable and slowly turned his head to see if there was anyone there. To his discomfort, his face connected this Sasuke's hard fist. The force of the punch caused Deidara to fly several feet.

Sasuke's body was badly injured with bruises and cuts, but that didn't stop him. The Uchiha was panting; his body slightly slouched in execution as he stood. His was still in the second stage of the curse seal.

"How did you escape, hmm?" Deidara said trying to stand on his feet. "How could you have escaped my masterpiece? It was foolproof, hmm!"

"Genjutsu and Ninjutsu," Sasuke answered plainly, panting slightly to catch his breath.

"That doesn't explain how you got out, hmm!" Deidara yelled.

"I'm not going to waste time explaining. Now tell me where did your partner take Sakura to?"

"You think I'm going to tell you, hmm?"

Sasuke appeared behind Deidara and plunged Chidori into his chest, barely missing his heart.

"Tell me where she is!" Sasuke demanded.

Deidara began to laugh insanely as he coughed up blood. Sasuke tried to pull his arm out of his victim's chest, but Deidara was holding on to him.

"If I'm going to die, I may as well take you with me, hmm."

The last bit of clay in the palm of his hands wrapped itself around his own body, along Sasuke's arm, and along his body too. Sasuke tried to pull free, but it was useless; his chakra was once again being drained by the clay and relaxing his body wasn't doing any good either.

'_Shit! I can't get free!'_

BOOM!

The clay exploded and flung Sasuke into the trees. The explosion was so strong that some of the trees fell over, covering him from the light.

"Sakura…" Sasuke whispered before he lost conscious.

* * *

"ANYTHING YET?!" yelled out Naruto. "WE'VE BEEN OUT HERE FOR DAYS AND STILL NO SIGN OF THEM!"

"Troublesome," Shikamaru said. "Be patience Naruto, we'll find them."

Naruto didn't have any more patience; he desperately wanted to find Sasuke and Sakura. They've been traveling for four days and asked the towns they passed by if they seen either Sasuke or Sakura, but still found nothing. With Kakashi's ninja dogs, it still wasn't enough to find the two missing ninjas.

"Kakashi, I heard a faint explosion in that direction," Pakkun, one of Kakashi's ninja dogs said, pointing one of his paws at the mentioned direction.

"Lead the way Pakkun," Kakashi said.

Pakkun led the way with Naruto and Kakashi right being the ninja hound. Everyone else was right behind, jumping from branch to branch. When they reached an open field, the ground in several areas was erupted. Neji and Hinata activated their Byakugan to scan the area. Everyone spread out to see if they could find anything.

"Kakashi!" Gai yelled. "You should come and see this."

The copy ninja headed over to his comrade; he could tell it was something important if Gai didn't call anyone else to check out what he had found. The copy ninja looked down on the ground and there laid the dead body of Deidara.

"Seems like we didn't finish him off when we were at Suna," Gai said. "By the looks of the body, he was hit by Chidori."

"Looking at the damage the area suffered, it looks like it was Sakura's doing. But Sasuke is the only other person that knows Chidori besides me," Kakashi said.

"Then we can assume that they're traveling together," Jiraiya said, getting involved in the conversation. "At least we know there's one less Akatsuki member to deal with."

Anko was by the fallen frees when she felt the curse mark on her left shoulder burn slightly. Her right hand clenched her burning flesh, biting her lower lips to keep herself from screaming our in pain.

"Anko," Kakashi saw he face in pain and wanted to make sure she was alright. "Is it the seal?"

"Aa…it would usually react when _he_ is around, but he's dead."

The white haired ninja pulled down on the woman's collar to look at the seal. Though her hand covered it, Kakashi was still able to see the seal. It wasn't spreading and that was good.

"KAKASHI!" the small ninja dog yelled. "His scent is strong over here. It's Sasuke and I'm sure of it!"

Both Neji and Hinata hurried over to Pakkun to find if there was indeed a body nearby. They had to see if the chakra network was still flowing; this would be the only way to know if the person buried was still alive or not.

Hinata spotted someone's chakra network still flowing and pointed specify at the center. "O-over h-here!" she yelled out as loud as she could. "There's a b-body with c-chakra s-still flowing p-present."

"It could be Sasuke!" Kakashi yelled as he headed over to remove the heavy logs.

Everyone pitched in to help removed the pill of logs. In a matter of minutes, most of the broken tree branches. When they were three fourths done, Kakashi stopped them.

"What is it Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi didn't answer and lifted his head band to reveal his Sharingan eye. "Get back, NOW!"

As everyone moved, the broken trees scattered and revealed Sasuke with the curse seal across half his body. One of the wings was out and had protected him from the blow that flung him into the trees. His body was still badly injured, but it wasn't life threatening.

"SASUKE-TEME!" Naruto yelled.

Sasuke couldn't see clearly, but he knew who the voice belonged to. He let the seal retreat back and put his haori back on. This white haori was stained with dirt and blood, but he didn't care; there was something more important he had to worry about now.

The Kyuubi's chakra began to take form as Naruto rushed up to him and grabbed Sasuke's haori. Yamato made a few hand seals, prepared to stop the Kyuubi's chakra from taking control of Naruto.

"WHERE IS SHE? WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?" the blond yelled out angrily. Naruto's grip tightened, shaking Sasuke. "ANSWER ME TEME! WHERE IS SAKURA-CHAN?"

When his vision cleared, Sasuke saw everyone around. He yanked Naruto's arm away from him and walked pass him coldly. Sasuke had to go find Sakura, no matter what condition he was in, he was going to find her. Before he could take another step, he was stopped by a shadow. He was forced to look over his shoulder and saw that Shikamaru had used his clan's jutsu to stop him.

"You're coming with us to Konoha, Uchiha Sasuke," Shikamaru said and he held the jutsu.

Even though his body was drain from using the curse mark once against Deidara, Sasuke let the curse mark spread over his body. The over powering chakra forced Shikamaru's shadow to retreat and free Sasuke.

"Do you really think I will do as you say?" Sasuke said glaring at Shikamaru.

Naruto charged at Sasuke but then fell on his knees as the red chakra disappeared. Sasuke had entered Naruto's mind and suppressed the Kyuubi. Everyone got into fighting stands, prepared if Sasuke were to attack.

"If you don't have a death wish then I suggest that you leave me alone," Sasuke said as a warning. He didn't have any time to waste. "I have something important I need to do."

He suddenly activated his Sharingan and Kakashi's presence was felt behind him. Sasuke looked over his shoulder as his eyes widen. He had never expected to see the very eyes that made him suffer; Kakashi had the Mangekyou Sharingan activated.

"You know what it can do Sasuke," Kakashi said in a serious tone. "If you don't want to go through _that_ again, cooperate with us."

He knew what his former sensei was referring to, but won't believe that the man was serious. "You wouldn't dare."

"Don't force me to use it Sasuke," Kakashi warned him. "I can have you relive that moment or rummage through your mind to get the answer we seek."

The Uchiha clenched his fist tightly; he didn't need to relive the past or have his former sensei rummage though his mind. Sasuke let the curse seal retreat and his eyes turn back to his onyx ones. Kakashi let his eye change back to the normal Sharingan and pulled down his head band when Sasuke was relaxed.

"Now tell us, where is Sakura?"

Sasuke looked in the direction he last saw Tobi heading toward. He didn't know where exactly where she was, but he had an idea of where she might be at. If he found Itachi, there was a high possibility Sakura would be there. The only thing that bothered him was what Itachi's were for Sakura.

"He has her," the young Uchiha answered angrily. "And I'm going after him myself."

Only Naruto, Kakashi, Anko, Gai, and Jiraiya knew who Sasuke was referring to. The Uchiha was going to leave, but Kakashi prevented him from going anywhere.

"What do you want to do Kakashi?" Gai asked as he walked over to his rival yet comrade.

"We're all after the same thing. I suggest Sasuke join us and head for them." Kakashi looked over at the two Hyuuga. "I want you two to block the minor chakra points in Sasuke now. Ino heal his injuries."

"Hai," the three said.

Kakashi summoned the rest of his ninja dogs. "Scatter and try to find Sakura's scent. When you do, call out." With that said, the dogs scattered toward every direction.

After the major chakra points were blocked, Neji took watch over the Uchiha while Ino was healing him. Sasuke sat in discomfort, the blond medic was taking too long compared to his cherry blossom. Ino had a hard time concentrating on healing Sasuke. Her mind kept wondering from her pass feelings for the young Uchiha and possibility of finding Sakura alive. Sasuke was annoyed by Ino's constant lost in concentration; he didn't care whether he was fully healed or not, all he wanted was to find Sakura and kill his bother.

"Stop healing me," Sasuke demanded coldly. He glared at Ino as he put his haori back on. "Just let it will heal on it's on."

Ino did as she was told, afraid what would happen if she didn't. He wanted to feel the warm chakra of his cherry blossom to heal him; she wouldn't let anything distract her as she performed as a professional medic. With everything prepared, they heading to look for Akatsuki and Sakura.

* * *

When Sakura gained back consciousness, her head hurt and she felt her body drained of most of its chakra. Her hands were chained above her head that she had to stand on her toes to stop the feeling of having her arms ripped out of its sockets.

"You're awake, Sakura-san."

She looked up and saw a pair of red eyes staring down at her. Her eyes widen, thinking at first that it was Sasuke, but the chakra she felt was different. They was only one other person she knew of that hard a pair of crimson eyes.

"Itachi," Sakura said with venom. "Let me go!"

"What kind of a brother-in-law would I be if I let you go?"

Sakura stared wide eyed at Itachi. "How do you know?"

"The necklace you have on." Itachi's arm shot out from its sleeve. His hand wrapped itself around her small neck. "You're his strength and weakness."

Sakura struggled against his grip to get air into her body, but the more she struggled, the tighter his hand gripped. Itachi held her up to eye level, ignoring her thrashing legs. Her wide eyes stared into his emotionless crimson orbs as Sakura tried to draw in her breath

Suddenly the surroundings of the cell changed into a world where the sky was red. Her arms were at her side once again and she was thrown to the ground forcefully. She breath in heavily to take in the lost of hair she said.

"Let's see how you hold up to these images."

Sakura didn't know what Itachi was talking about. She looked around her surroundings and saw it was deserted, not even Itachi was around. Then she saw Sasuke, Sharingan spinning dangerously and his katana drawn. She felt a bit relieved, but she knew it was all genjutsu. She was in the word of Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan.

But what she saw next horrified her.

* * *

**CLIFF HANGER! You'll have to wait for the next chapter if you want to know what happens to Sakura when she's in Itachi's world of the Mangekyou Sharingan.**

**That snake tattoo was hard to describe. If you read chapter 363, you'll see that tattoo that is used for the snake summoning on Sasuke's forearm. I didn't want the fight scene between Sasuke and Deidara to be exactly the same as the one in the manga so I just made it all up. Trying to describe Tobi's face was hard… I was planning to have the entire rookie nine go on the mission to retrieve Sasuke and Sakura, but that's just too many people.**

**Anyways, I haven't decided if I'm going to put Suigetsu, Jugo, and Karin in this fanfic. I'm still thinking it over.**

**That's it for now, until next chapter! Remember to review! Ja!**

**AUTHOR NOTE: This chapter has been revised.**


	14. Chap 14: Mangekyou Sharingan

**Konichiwa minna-san. Arigatou to those that reviewed. Gomen for any mistakes that are in my writing. I came to the decision that Suigetsu, Jugo, and Karin aren't going to be in this fanfic. I personally don't like Karin, but Suigetsu and Jugo are okay.**

**Gomen if anyone preferred to have the entire rookie nine, minus Sasuke and Sakura, going on the mission. When I made the outline for the pervious chapter, it was hard to intenerate everyone into the action. This chapter has a lot of scene changes and time skips of a few hours. If there's anything that's confusing, don't hesitate to ask. Now, ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this fanfic.**

* * *

Chapter 14: Mangekyou Sharingan

Sakura knew what she saw was all created by genjutsu, but she couldn't stop her body from trembling and the tears in her eyes from falling. Right in front of her eyes, she saw Itachi thrash Sasuke around like he was a toy. The older Uchiha would twist and break limbs, stab kunais into the body, and beat the body to no end. There were time when Sasuke's sadden eyes would stare at her, as if apologizing, as Itachi kept on attacking.

"It's not real….that's not Sasuke-kun…" Sakura whispered, clenching her hands.

Every time she thought the nightmare would stop, it played over again. She watch Itachi do the same things over again to Sasuke sometimes the older Uchiha would so something unexpected. Once, completely unexpected, the older Uchiha decapitate the head of his younger brother. The head rolled in front of the cherry blossom and she was utterly frightened at the sight. She felt blood splash on her and couldn't shake off the fear she was going through.

"STOP I'VE HAD ENOUGH!" Sakura yelled out, tears pouring down her cheeks.

She couldn't stand the sight of Sasuke being beaten down. He was capable of fighting back, but in Itachi's world, anything can happen.

"It's only been a day, Sakura-san," Itachi said from behind. He dropped the lifeless body of Sasuke beside her. "You still have two more days left."

She looked over at the body and Sasuke's lifeless onyx orbs were staring back at her. Sakura instantly shut her eyes and turned away, not wanting to fall prey to Itachi's game. She wasn't going to show her weakness, she was going to stay strong no matter what.

"Sakura-chan!" She knew that voice calling her. "Sakura-chan!"

"Naruto?"

Sakura looked up and saw the village of Konoha in flames. He was in the middle of the village and witnessed many horrible things. She heard screams and the clash of metal everywhere around her. The dead villagers were lying on the ground in a pool of their own blood, from young children to the elderly. Women were being raped by several men before they were killed off. Those that tried to run away were killed instantly, quick and painless. Stores and homes were being raided for money and any expensive belonging before it was set on fire.

Everyone she knew was torched in front of her; kunais imbedded into their bodies, limbs torn off, and screams of pain. Sakura clenched her aching head, trying to block out the horrible images she saw, but it was no use, Itachi let the images play over again, trying to drive her insane. She could feel the weight of their body lying on her legs and sometimes she felt like she was drenched in their blood.

"This isn't real…none of this is real. STOP THIS!"

"As you wish Sakura-san," Itachi said calmly from behind. "But there is still one more day."

Her surroundings changed once again, but this time she was chained to a wall. Her arms were beside her head and her ankles tied down. Sakura saw Itachi in front of her, eyeing her oddly. She looked down at her body and notice that she was completely exposed to the older Uchiha. She didn't want anyone but Sasuke to see her like this, unfortunately Itachi controlled what went on in this world.

"Your mental strength is unbelievable, Sakura-san." He brought up his hand and caressed her left cheek. "Most people looked half dead by the end of the first day."

"Talk your hands off me, Itachi!" Sakura utter out with venom.

He did so and a katana appeared in his hands. "That's not a nice way to speak to your brother-in-law."

"After what you did to your clan, I would never consider you as family! You murdered your-"

Sakura was cut off when she screamed out in pain; Itachi had stabbed the katana into her abdomen. No matter what she told herself, the pain felt very real. She turned to look at the older Uchiha in the eye, but who she saw in front of her wasn't Itachi, it was Sasuke. Pulling the katana out of her flesh, the figure Sasuke came closer to Sakura.

She felt his hot breath against her ear, but knew very well that it wasn't the real Sasuke. She trembled in fear as she thought up all the things Itachi could do to her. Sakura felt terrified of what Itachi was planning to do to her. Was Itachi planning on violating her by using genjutsu? She felt him lick the shell of her ear then nibble it slightly. He then place kisses down her neck and his free hand trace her figure. She bit her lower lips, drawing blood, but it didn't wake her mind.

"Scream for me Sakura."It was Sasuke's voice.

Suddenly the katana pierced her body once again when she least expected it. She screamed out in pain as no blood spilled from her wound.

"Hope you weren't expecting," Itachi's voice said calmly coming out from Sasuke's mouth. He pulled the katana out and pierced her skin once again. "For this torture will also strain you physically can cause a miscarriage if there is another life in you."

For the last day, Sakura went through the painful torture of having the katana stabbed into her body by Itachi who was disguised as Sasuke. Each painful puncture would make Sakura scream as tears of pain ran down her cheeks. When the world of Mangekyou Sharingan finally ended, five minutes had passed in the real world. Sakura was breathing heavily, but she was still conscious.

"You should be unconscious by now Sakura-san," Itachi said as he eyed the kunoichi closely.

"…you bastard…" Sakura whispered.

The Uchiha slapped her hard across her face then lifted her chin up. Crimson met with emerald. "You're not as frail as your name sake Sakura-san." She released his hold then turned around to exit the room. As he walked to the door, he said something to her. "A cherry blossom is fragile, but you're still alert as if nothing happened. I'll just have to make tomorrows more painful."

Itachi left the room, leaving Sakura alone. Her mind was spinning and her body was in pain, but she didn't want to lose to Itachi. She was going to stay strong no matter what.

"…Sasuke-kun…"

* * *

They have been traveling for several hours, but didn't find any trace of Sakura or the Akatsuki. The ninja hounds didn't find a trace of Sakura's scent anywhere; it was like her scent completely disappeared or the ninja dogs' sense of smell went wrong. When the sun began to set, the group stopped to set up camp. Kakashi's ninja dogs came to the camp to rest for the night. Everyone was gathered together, except for Sasuke. He sat up on a tree alone, but within the group's eye sight.

"Damn it!" Sasuke swore to himself. He glared down at the group. "Can't you guys do anything right?"

"Shut up Sasuke-teme!" Naruto glared back at him. "We wouldn't be in this shit if you didn't kidnap Sakura-chan in the first place!"

"You blame me for what happened to Sakura when it's not my fault!" Sasuke yelled. "You know very well whose fault it was for Sakura's kidnapping." The Uchiha intensified his glare at Naruto. "Ninja dogs, two Byakugan users, two sannins, and a Sharingan user can't find her," Sasuke said. "You even have the lazy ass genius Nara with you!"

"We're doing everything they can! You're a sannin too and an Uchiha, yet you didn't do any better," Naruto yelled back up at his best friend. "If you had protected Sakura-chan better, we wouldn't be in this shit the first place! We could have been heading back to Konoha right now!"

_'I know that!'_ Sasuke screamed out in his head. "Then why are you sitting around instead of searching for her?"

"Why do you suddenly care so much her, teme?" Naruto yelled back at him. Yamato stood by Naruto, trying to calm him down. "You never gave a damn about Sakura-chan before and now you do! Are you trying to break her heart again?" The blond then pointed a finger up at his teammate. "You're the one to blame for all of her suffering!"

Sasuke glared at Naruto. "My reasons don't concern any of you, especially you dobe!"

"We're here to help teme!" the blond yelled. "We're all here to help find Sakura-chan."

"I don't want or need any help," the Uchiha replied. "I'm capable of doing things on my own!"

"Stop it, the both of you!" Kakashi yelled at his two former students. "We're all doing our best to find Sakura. I don't want to deal with the two of you arguing with Akatsuki around."

Unable to continue his argument with the Uchiha, Naruto just stormed off into his tent, not even bothering to eat. There was so much running through his mind that he didn't feel like he had an appetite. Anger wasn't the only emotion running though the blond, there was sadness too. He wanted his raven haired friend to open up to him, but it wasn't easy. The young Uchiha wanted to go off on his own; he wanted to find his cherry blossom right away, but he couldn't. The only thing he could do was wait, wait until the ninja hounds were able to find her scent, wait until they found one of the Akatsuki's hideouts, wait until Itachi appeared with a lifeless Sakura in his arms. He couldn't wait, there were too many things that could happen to the young woman and he didn't want to sit around and let her suffer.

Sasuke took out a little bit of food from his pack to satisfy his hunger; he didn't have an appetite either, but he needed the energy. If anything came up he would be ready to go. As he ate, he tried to search for Sakura's chakra presence or the curse seal's.

_'Just hold on a bit longer Sakura.'_

Unable to leave to search for Sakura, Sasuke had no other choice but to have someone do it for him. He first removed the arm guard from his left arm and bit his right thumb. After smearing a bit of blood on the tattoo on his arm, he made several hand seals and then put his palm on the tree branch.

"Kyuichose No Jutsu."

Kakashi sensed the summoning jutsu and looked up at Sasuke to see what he was up to. A puff of smoke appeared and two snakes appeared. They were both about four feet long, one was midnight blue with jet black eyes and smaller one was forest green with crimson eyes.

"Renji, Yuki, I want the two of you to do something for me."

Renji and Yuki were usually only summoned by Sasuke. Because he treated them well, they respected him more than they did Orochimaru.

"What is it Sasuke-sama?" Renji, the midnight blue snake asked.

"You two are going to the woods together to find a hideout. Search the place for a young woman named Sakura with pink hair and emerald eyes. When you do find her, Yuki, I want you to stay with Sakura while Renji reports back to me."

"Sakura-sama must be very important if you called us two out," Yuki said. "I bet she's beautiful too."

"Aa…" Sasuke saw a small group of birds and threw two wired kunais down at them. He was able to catch two birds and pulled them up. "It may not be much, but you'll need the energy."

Both snakes ate their given meal without complaints. Sasuke then let the two snakes coil up his arms so that he could bring them down from the tree.

"Be alert of the curse seal's chakra," the Uchiha informed the two. "Sakura has the heaven seal too."

"We'll do our best to find Sakura-sama," Renji said before he and Yuki slithered into the forest.

—xXx—

Sasuke woke up in the middle of the night from a nightmare he wished would come to an end, the memories of his clan's death. But what made it ever more dreadful was the image of Itachi killing Sakura. He couldn't get the image of Sakura's lifeless body in his arms, never to wake again.

Neither Renji nor Yuki had returned with any news. He hoped that they would be safe when they encounter Akatsuki. But what he feared most was whether they'll be able to find Sakura alive.

"…Sakura…"

* * *

After Itachi had left, Sakura fell asleep to rest her body. Knowing that what she saw was all an illusion created by Itachi, it still bothered her, especially the ones of Sasuke. An illusion had become her nightmare. When she woke up the next morning, Sakura had regained barely half her chakra, but she was still physically weak from going through Mangekyou Sharingan. She hoped what Itachi said was a lie to scare her, but he walked in, Sakura felt as if she had finally lost to Itachi.

"Shall we begin Sakura-san?"

She didn't answer and just stared blackly at the man in front of her. Itachi stared deep into her emerald eyes. The cell's surrounding changed into a world where the sky was dark red. Sakura found herself tied to a cross and Itachi in front of her with a sword in hand.

"You've gone through one day of this torture; let's see how you hold up to three days."

He jabbed the sword into her stomach. Unable to hold the pain in, Sakura screamed. Her mind knew that it was all genjutsu, but the pain she felt was real. Tears began to pour out of her eyes as the pain became more and more unbearable.

"How does that feel Sakura?" Itachi stabbed her again. "You still have hours of this to come, but I think I should show you something too."

The surroundings changed to a living room of a house that seemed very familiar to her. There she saw Itachi standing in the corner and his partner, Kisame over two dead bodies, his sword dripped with blood. Sakura didn't know who the two were until Itachi wined it back to the beginning. Sakura saw her parents, standing in front of Kisame. She saw terror in their eyes as Kisame drew out his huge shredding sword. She saw her parents die in the hands of Kisame while Itachi just stood at the side watching.

"STOP IT! I DON'T WANT TO SEE THIS!" Sakura yelled out as he clenched her head in pain and tears pour out of her eyes. "I DON'T WANT TO SEE THIS ANYMORE!"

"Unfortunately I'm not doing this for myself, Sakura-san. It's all for my foolish little brother."

In the world of the Mangekyou Sharingan, Sakura was constantly stabbed by Itachi and watched her parents die in the hands of Kisame. But little did Itachi know the curse seal was spreading slowly across her body.

* * *

Sasuke was unable to gain much sleep after his nightmare. He leaned his head back against the tree and closed his eyes. The thought of what Itachi was doing to Sakura kept on bothering him. He was capable of torturing her with his Mangekyou Sharingan and killing her if he wanted to.

"Shit!" Sasuke cursed.

After the argument he and Naruto had yesterday evening, the blond couldn't help but feel that something had happened between his two teammates. To him, it would explain why Sasuke's attitude toward Sakura was odd. He jumped up to the branch and stood in front of Sasuke.

"What do you want dobe?" Sasuke asked in a cold tone.

"No matter what, you have to save Sakura-chan. I don't want to see my family die." His voice was serious. "Promise me that you'll save her and protect her."

"Dobe, I…"

"Don't give me that sort of shit teme!" Naruto said as he pounded his fist into the tree. "I know, deep down that you care for Sakura-chan."

_'You have no idea what she means to me.'_ Sasuke thought to himself.

Suddenly Sasuke felt a stinging pain where the curse seal was and it began to spread slowly. It was a reaction to Sakura's curse seal. He quickly stood up and looked in the direction where the chakra was coming from. The group felt a strong chakra and saw that the curse seal had consumed half of Sasuke's body.

"I know where she is," Sasuke whispered then disappeared.

Without waiting for orders from Kakashi, Naruto rushed ahead behind Sasuke. The others didn't have a chose and followed.

* * *

"Renji!"

"I feel it too. The curse seal's chakra and it's nearby."

The two snakes hurried toward the chakra and were able to find the hideout. They entered the dark cave and heard the echoes of screams.

"That must be Sakura-sama!" Yuki said.

"Go find her. I'll get Sasuke-sama."

There the two split ways. Yuki stayed closed to the wall to avoid being stepped on and found. The screams suddenly stopped and that Yuki hurried to the end of the hallway. There she found Kisame of Akatsuki opening a door to a room.

Kisame walked in to the cell where Sakura was held and he found his partner on the ground. Yuki slithered in quickly, hiding in the shadows.

"Itachi quit using it if it's going to make you so freaking weak!" Kisame said as he helped Itachi up.

"This usually doesn't happen when I use it, but…"

"But what?"

Itachi looked at Sakura. Her eyes were widened with terror and there were some wounds on her abdomen, as if he had torched her in reality. The curse seal had spread half way over her body and stayed there.

"Kakashi and my foolish brother couldn't get out, but she did," Itachi said calmly. "Sakura-san threw me out when the second day was about to end."

"Impossible, no one has ever done that," Kisame said as he looked at Sakura. "Did you do that to her?" Kisame pointed to the wounds on her abdomen.

Itachi shook his head. "It's like she made the wounds real to get out of the genjutsu. She wasn't alone in there either."

"No shit, you were in her mind," Kisame said sarcastically.

"No…I saw another soul in there."

"What the hell? You got to be kidding me! Only the victim and the user can only be in the mind."

"No she was real, not an illusion from her mind. It was like she appeared to protect her mind from being invaded."

"Say whatever you want. Bad news, we have to go. It seems like we were found, by your brother. At least that's what Tobi said."

"No. I need him to see her die."

"In the condition you're in, there's no way in hell you can get anything done. He's not alone, it seem the Konoha ninjas are with him. And it includes the Kyuubi boy and the copy ninja Kakashi."

"Damn," Itachi said with a hit of anger in his voice. "Fine, but use your jutsu to let this place flood up slowly."

Itachi changed his eyes back to his onyx ones as Kisame preformed the jutsu. When he was done, water began to rise an inch every minute. Helping the Uchiha, the two Akatsuki members left the room and left the unconscious bleeding Sakura.

Yuki hurried out of the shadows to examine Sakura. She saw that the bleeding along Sakura's abdomen needed to be stopped and the strain on her arms lessened.

Slithering up Sakura's body, Yuki coiled around her small waist tight enough to stop the bleeding, but strong enough to constrict the young woman to death. A soft whimper escaped her Sakura's lips. She then went along Sakura's back and coiled the chain, lifting Sakura a few inches off the ground and removed the strain on her arms.

_'Hurry Renji.'_

* * *

Sasuke came to a stop in front of a dense forest. He was about to take a step forward, but was stopped by Shikamaru's shadow. There was a rattling in the bushes in front of them and Kakashi's ninja dogs came out.

"There's an entrance here, Kakashi," Pakkun said. "I also smell Sakura's scent."

Kakashi nodded and dismissed his dogs. Shikamaru let Sasuke free from his shadow. Neji and Hinata activated their Byakugan to scan the area.

"There's someone there," Hinata said. "But it doesn't seem to be moving."

"There're two different chakra presences," Neji added. "One chakra is unbelievably strong though."

There was another rustle in the bushed in front and Renji came out.

"Sasuke-sama, Sakura-sama is in danger."

With that said Sasuke picked up his snake and disappeared again.

"Damn, the kid's fast," Jiraiya said.

"Naruto, Hinata, and Yamato will go with me to follow Sasuke," Kakashi said. "Everyone else will stay out here on guard. Be alert, Akatsuki could attack at any time."

They scattered to guard more of the area. Hinata lead the way with Naruto at her side, eager to save his teammate.

—xXx—

Sasuke ran as fast as his legs would carry him. The thought of what Itachi did to Sakura fueled his body to move faster. He could feel the curse mark's power growing from his anger. The young Uchiha followed the seal's chakra instead of stopping to figure out which hall to go into. He came to a sudden stop when he stepped into water.

"It seems they're flooding the place," Renji said.

Sasuke channeled chakra into his feet and began to walk on the water. He hurried to the end of the hall, where the source of the flooding was coming from. When he entered the room, he saw Yuki coiling Sakura to keep her from floating away and drowning.

"Damn!" Sasuke cursed.

He dispelled the chakra to his feet and sank down into the water, getting himself wet. The water was almost up to his waist and because Sakura was shorter than him, it would be much higher. Sasuke walked in the water to reach her then gently pulled Sakura into his chest embracing her.

"I stopped the bleeding around her abdomen Sasuke-sama," Yuki said uncoiling from the chain. "But I don't know what's wrong with Sakura-sama."

He saw that Sakura had gone through Mangekyou Sharingan. "Yuki, keep yourself wrapped around her wounds for now. Renji, I need you to hold her up so she won't drop into the water when I take the chains off her wrist."

Renji slithered around Sakura's body and supported her as if he was a sling. Sasuke drew Kusanagi out and put the tip of the blade in the lock. A tiny bit of lightning surged through the blade into the lock, shattering it. With that done, Sasuke put his katana back in its sheath.

He carefully carried Sakura bridal style and walked through the water to the exit with his two snakes. It was difficult for the water was now up to Sasuke's elbow. Yuki was still around Sakura's abdomen and Renji was over his master's shoulders. Sasuke saw Sakura's pack hanging by the door and knew she had needed supplies in there.

"Renji, get that pack."

Renji coiled the strap and brought it over so that he was carrying it while on Sasuke's shoulders. He walked out of the water and into the hallway. They had water dripping from their wet clothes and the kunoichi's body felt cold.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled. "Sakura-chan, we're here to save you!"

As Naruto neared them, Sakura whimpered in pain, her body shivering a bit. Sasuke held his cherry blossom closer to him in attempt to keep her body warm as he hurried out of the hideout. The blond noticed that Sakura didn't respond and stopped in his tracks.

"What's happening to her?" asked Naruto. He saw their clothes were drenched. "Did he use that Sharingan on her? Did they drown Sakura-chan?"

Sasuke didn't have time to answer his teammate's questions and walked pass Naruto. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach after seeing Sakura almost lifeless in the arms of the Uchiha. Naruto quickly turned around and followed the raven haired man. Sasuke hurried threw the hallway, passing the other three shinobis that had follow after him. Kakashi spotted Sasuke and immediately noticed that Sakura had suffered through the Mangekyou Sharingan. The others were confused with Sakura's condition and just turned to head back out.

When they emerged from the cave's entrance, the others saw them and came out from their hiding spot. They were lucky it was warm outside and their clothes would dry faster. Sasuke laid Sakura down lightly on the ground. Ino and Tenten rushed over to see if Sakura had any wounds that needed healing.

"Damn snake, get away from forehead girl."

Yuki glared at Ino. "You shouldn't insult Sakura-sama, pig."

A vine popped on Ino's head. No one called her pig and got away with it, besides Sakura.

"I will tear you to pieces and feed it to the wolves!"

Ino was about to snatch the snake off Sakura in attempt to do what she said, but Tenten held her back.

"Ino, you baka! If you lose control of your anger, the snake could kill Sakura," the weapon mistress whispered to her friend.

Until Ino calm down, did Tenten freed the blond. Sasuke was smirking inwardly at Yuki's success of getting Ino irritated.

"You can let go of her now Yuki."

Yuki uncoiled around Sakura and up Sasuke's arm. The wounds around her abdomen were reduced to red scars that Sakura would have to heal on her own.

"Did you do that Yuki?" Renji asked as he examined the healed wounds.

"It's Sakura's curse seal," Sasuke said answering his pet's question. "The chakra from the seal would heal her wounds to minor ones."

Ino kneeled by Sakura. "Wake up forehead girl!" the blond yelled out loudly. When she didn't get a response, Ino sat Sakura up and started to shake her violently. "I said wake up Sakura!"

**_'That bitch is going to kill Sakura!'_** Sasuke's inner self yelled out.

Renji and Yuki coiled around Ino suddenly to stop her from hurting Sakura. Tenten pulled out her kunai for defense. Sakura's body fell back only to be caught by Sasuke. He picked up Sakura's pack, carried her bridal style and stood up from his spot, walking away.

"Renji, Yuki."

"Hai Sasuke-sama."

The two snakes released a frighten Ino and slithered toward Sasuke. The Uchiha was going to head off with Sakura; he didn't want to be bothered by anyone that would get in his way. All he needed to do was take care of his cherry blossom, kill Itachi, and maybe return back to Konoha.

"Where are you going with Sakura-chan, teme?"

Blocking his way was none other than is best friend and brother, Naruto. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest as he stared at the Uchiha with slightly narrowed eyes. He was determined to bring them back to Konoha no matter what and he wasn't going to tell the opportunity slip out of his grasp.

Sasuke let the cruse mark spread until it consumed half his body. Those onyx orbs turned red and slowly spun. "Get out of my way, dobe."

* * *

**That's the end of this chapter. Yes I know I'm very cruel; I had Sakura go through Mangekyou Sharingan twice. At least Itachi got kicked out by inner Sakura the second time he used it on her. Hoped you like Sasuke's two pet snakes, Renji and Yuki. I created those two because I didn't want Sasuke to summon snakes that have an attitude and behavior problem like Manga. LOL.**

**Remember to review! Until next chapter, JA!**

**AUTHOR NOTE: This chapter has been revised.**


	15. Chap 15: Promise

**Konichiwa minna-san! Arigatou to all of those that read and reviewed! Gomen for any mistakes that are present in the chapter.**

**This chapter was pretty hard to put together, especially with the ending I put for the last chapter. I'm happy that people like Sasuke's two pet snakes Renji and Yuki. If I didn't state it clearly in the last chapter, Renji is a male and Yuki is a female snake. It seems no one disapproved with what Sakura went through then she was under the genjutsu Tsukiyomi. Anyways, enjoy this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this fanfic.**

* * *

Chapter 15: Promise

"Renji, Yuki, the two of you can leave and rest up now."

"Hai Sasuke-sama." Then the two snakes disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Answer me teme! Where are you taking Sakura-chan?"

Sasuke looked at Naruto, eye to eye. "I've said it before dobe, it doesn't concern you."

Sasuke noticed that his surroundings were beginning to blur. He activated his Sharingan and immediately knew Kakashi was attempting to use Mangekyou Sharingan.

"Your attempt to catch me in your genjutsu is pointless Kakashi." Sasuke sent out a pulse of chakra around him, throwing off Kakashi's genjutsu and caused everyone to feel uneasy. "If you don't want to die, I suggest you let me pass."

"You're not going anywhere teme! We're here to bring you and Sakura-chan back!" Naruto clenched his fist tightly. The Kyuubi's chakra was beginning to leak out from the seal and surround him. "Sakura-chan needs to see Tsunade-baa-chan!"

"I'm not going back, Naruto." Sasuke's voice said from behind him. Naruto turned around to see a Sasuke clone. "I still have to go after him."

'_He didn't use any hand signs!'_ Kakashi thought. _'Could this be Sasuke's true strength?'_

Naruto threw a punch at the clone, only to have it disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Even if you do take Sakura home, she won't be safe." A Sasuke clone said from behind Kakashi. "She'll be hunted down by him, until she's dead."

Kakashi turned around and disposed of the clone. Everyone was really on edge now. Sasuke hadn't preformed any hand signs, but somehow he was able to make clones.

Their surroundings began to change into places of Konoha. Everyone tried to dispel the genjutsu, but it was not use. They saw an illusion of Sakura, cheerful with a warm smile on her face, laughing, and yelling.

"_Come on Naruto, I'll treat you to some ramen."_

"_You're late again Kakashi-sensei!"_

"_Though they can be a pain in the ass, I won't want to trade team seven for anything Yamato-sensei."_

"_You look fine, so stop complaining Ino-pig!"_

"_I won't go out with you no matter how many times you ask me Lee-san."_

"_For the last time Gai-sensei, I won't go out with Lee-san."_

"_Can you get these medicine ingredients Shikamaru?"_

"_Come on Hinata-chan, speak your mind and be loud."_

"_We have to eat here more often Anko-san, it's so delicious."_

"_Jiraiya-sama, you should know better than to spy on women at the hot springs!"_

"_Neji-san, can you train with me tomorrow?"_

"_Ne, Tenten-chan, let's show them what we're made off."_

They were in an illusion created by their memories with Sakura. Suddenly the scenery changed to the clearing by the memorial stone. The weather was all that pleasant, was pouring hard and lightning was flashing. They saw themselves unconscious on the ground while a figure brutally finished off its target. Lying in a puddle of blood was the lifeless body of Sakura, with her dull eyes staring back at everyone. Towering over her dead body was an Akatsuki member wearing the straw hat. Even though his face was shadowed, the crimson eyes gave it away.

"_Hate me. Despise me. Run and survive in the most despicable way."_

Two figures began to charge at the Akatsuki member. One was Naruto, consumed by the Kyuubi's chakra with four tails and the other was Sasuke, fully consumed by the curse seal.

"_I'LL KILL YOU TO ADVENGE MY CLAN'S AND SAKURA'S DEATH, ITACHI!"_

"_YOU WILL PAY WITH YOUR LIFE FOR KILLING SAKURA-CHAN!"_

The genjutsu finally wore off. Ino fell to her knees, horrified at what she saw. Hinata stared at the spot the illusion took place, her body trembling. Tenten bit her lips, frozen in thought about what just happened. Shikamaru and Neji didn't know what to do; the genjutsu made things look so real that they couldn't shake the weird feeling away. Naruto clenched his fist tightly that his nails began to dig into his skin.

"I will save you Sakura-san, my youthful cherry blossom!" Lee said, charging at Sasuke. "Konoha Gouriki Senpuu!"

Sasuke caught Lee's legs with his right hand before made contact. He had Sakura standing on her feet, leaning into his body, his left arm supporting her.

"Chidori Nagashi."

Blue lightning surrounded Sasuke and Sakura. The lightning surging threw Lee's body was unbearable that he soon passed out. Sasuke then threw the injured body toward Gai. Neji took advantage to prepare to attack Sasuke from behind.

"Hakkeshou Rokujuu Yonshou."

The moment Neji's attack made contact with Sasuke, a puff a smoke engulfed him, revealing a log in his and Sakura's place.

'_Substitution!'_ Neji turned around to see if Sasuke was there, but he was nowhere in sight. _'Where the hell is he? I can't sense his or Sakura's chakra anywhere.'_

"Doton Shinjuu Zanshuu no Jutsu."

Suddenly a hand shot out from underneath and pulled Neji down into the ground up to his chin. Sasuke emerged from the ground with Sakura still in his arms.

"Konoha Senpuu!" Gai said as he appeared suddenly beside Sasuke.

Unable to react in time to dodge the attack, Sasuke used his own body to shield Sakura, taking a direct hit. The power Gai put into his attack send them flying. About to hit the ground, Sasuke turned them over so that he would take the full impact from the ground.

"Kage Mane no Jutsu!"

As Sasuke sat up, he heard a small whimper escape Sakura's lips. He saw a shadow rapidly approaching him and knew Shikamaru was planning to catch him. Getting up on his feet, Sasuke held on to Sakura tightly and jumped away in time before the shadow reached him.

Landing on a nearby tree branch wasn't any good at all. Yamato used his element of earth to his advantage and had thin branches strap Sasuke in place.

"Chidori Nagashi." The wood broke into pieces as Sasuke jumped off the tree. _'I'm not getting anyway if I keep this up!'_

"Senei Jashuu!" Anko yelled as three snakes emerged from her right sleeve.

They latch around the two sennins. When she knew that they were secured, Anko flung the two down to the ground. With someone unconscious in his arms, Sasuke had no other choice but to change into the second form of the seal.

Sasuke hurried and pulled his right arm out of its sleeve and let the curse seal consume him. His claw like wings protruded out of his back and softened the fall.

"Now Kakashi!" Jiraiya yelled.

Kakashi pushed his palm on the seal in front of him. A chakra barrier was formed around Sasuke and Sakura.

"You can't escape Sasuke." Kakashi said calmly. "You don't have the chakra control to break the barrier."

Sasuke let the curse seal retreat back. His body was bruised and scratched, but the woman in his arms was perfectly safe.

"We'll set up camp here to rest and head back tomorrow." Jiraiya said. "We'll also take turns taking watch."

"I'll watch them." Naruto said dully.

It was already late in the afternoon. Everyone had taken the time to rest up for the journey head. Naruto sat close enough to the barrier, keeping watch over his teammates, but deep in thought about the illusion.

Sasuke had laid out an area for Sakura to rest and made sure she was comfortable. He didn't care much about where he was at; Sasuke was more worried about Sakura's condition. He sat against a tree, taking a glance at her once in a while to check if she was alright.

Tsunade was the only one who could wake someone that had gone through Mangekyou Sharingan, but that would mean going back to Konoha. Sasuke wanted Sakura to go back to Konoha with everyone; however he didn't want to leave her alone. Though what had bothered him the most was that Itachi would defiantly go after Sakura.

"Teme…that genjutsu of Sakura-chan…dead…it won't really happen right?"

"Think what you want of it dobe." Sasuke said emotionlessly. "Whether or not you want to believe it is up to you."

"It's my fault she suffers." Naruto said. Sasuke looked over at Naruto who was staring at the ground in front of him. He was confused by what he just heard. "It's because of me. If Sakura-chan never became a part of team seven…if I never became a ninja, she wouldn't have been in danger."

"You're not the only one to be blamed dobe." Sasuke turned his gaze toward the sky. "It's also my fault as much as it is yours."

"Teme, what is Sakura-chan to you?"

Sasuke turned his gaze at the pink haired girl. "More than you'll ever know." Sasuke whispered, but Naruto heard it.

Naruto smiled a small smile, feeling a bit better. "I'll take it as a yes to the promise that you'll protect her."

—xXx—

It was getting dark. They set up two camp fires, one for the gang and the other for the three sennins.

After their little talk, Naruto and Sasuke had spent the rest of the day sleeping. Naruto slept as if he was back at home on his comfortable bed. Unfortunately, Sasuke didn't get a decent nap because he was deep in thought about his fiancée. All he wanted was for Sakura to get better and take his anger out on his brother.

'_He will pay for it.'_

He felt Sakura's forehead and it was burning. He took out a small cloth and soaked it before placing it on her forehead. He changed it every few minutes, and it helped bring down the fever.

"Sakura, please wake up." Sasuke whispered.

It was night fall and the gang was fast asleep. Naruto had gone back over and slept in his tent she shared with Shikamaru and Neji. They only ones awake were Ino and Shikamaru, who were keeping watch, and Sasuke who was trying to think up another way to wake Sakura up.

'_Tsunade can't be the only key!' Sasuke thought to himself._

'_**Since the Sharingan put her in that state, maybe it can get her out of it.'**_ Sasuke's inner suggested. _**'There's no harm in trying.'**_

'_The only question is what if it causes her to experience Tsukiyomi again? I won't risk having her go through those nightmares again.'_

'_**You've only got one shot at this.'**_

'_I hope this works out right.'_

Sasuke sat Sakura up and held her so that they were eye to eye. He supported her body and activated his Sharingan, letting it spin slowly. The color in her face and eyes began to come back and the curse seal began to retreat back.

"…Sakura…" He stroked her left cheek.

"Sasuke-kun…" She uttered in a very low voice.

He placed his fingers over her mouth and shifted his eyes to the gang. Sakura looked over and saw Ino and Shikamaru there, sitting by a fire.

"They're on a mission to take us back to Konoha." Sasuke said as he moved his fingers away from her lips. "I want you to go back with them."

"What about you Sasuke-kun?" Sakura didn't want to leave him. "Are you coming back too?"

He stared into her emerald eyes. "You know the answer to your question Sakura. I won't go back until he's dead." Sakura looked away with sad eyes. He embraced her and whispered into her ears. "I just don't want to see you hurt anymore."

"But I'm always hurt when I'm not with you." Sakura said returning his embrace by wrapping her arms around his waist. "Let me go with you, Sasuke-kun."

"It'll be dangerous." He embraced her tighter, pulled her body into his. "I don't want to risk losing you."

"Onegai, Sasuke-kun." Tears began to form in her eyes. "I have my reasons for going with you."

"Alright…" Sasuke sighed. "But getting away from them won't be easy for either one of us."

—xXx—

Ino was poking a stick into the fire, deep in thought.

"Shikamaru," Ino said breaking the silence. The said person looked at her with a lazy expression written all over his face. "Do you think that will really happen to forehead girl?"

He knew she was referring to the genjutsu they experienced. Even though he didn't show it, Shikamaru was just as shocked as anyone from the vision.

He let out a sigh before speaking. "It was only an illusion to throw us off so that Sasuke could escape."

"But it seemed so real!" Ino argued. "You saw what Sasuke turned into and that other monster that looked like Naruto. Murder was written all over them when they went for that Akatsuki guy. What they said proved it too!"

"Troublesome." Shikamaru sighed. "Ino calm down and listen to yourself."

"I can't calm down." Ino said, choking on her falling tears. "If we were any later, Sakura would really have been dead!"

"You're letting what Sasuke said get to your head Ino. It was just genjutsu to get us to believe what he said." He let out another sigh. "Just don't think about it and it won't bother you anymore."

Ino relaxed herself and went back to playing with the fire. When she heard footsteps approaching, Ino looked up and saw Sakura heading over with Sasuke right behind her.

"Forehead girl, you're awake!" Ino yelled loud enough that everyone woke up. She stood from her spot and went over to her friend, hugging her. "I'm so glad that you're okay."

"Ino," The said person moved back to face Sakura.

Ino didn't let Sakura speak. "You convinced the ice cube to come back to Konoha. Good, because if you didn't we would have to drag his ass back." She then stood back with her hands on her hips. "Oh, when we get home, we'll have a girl's day out and help you catch up on the latest news and gossip in Konoha."

"Gomen, Ino."

Ino couldn't react in time as Sakura forcefully punched her, causing her to fly back. Shikamaru caught his teammate before she hit the ground and quickly used his shadow to stop Sakura from going any farther.

"We got a serious problem here guys!" The Nara genius yelled.

Everyone got out of their tents and saw Shikamaru carrying an unconscious Ino in his arms.

"I'm trying to sleep." Naruto said as he turned to see what Shikamaru was staring at. "Sakura-chan, you're awake!"

She didn't say anything and stared emotionlessly at everyone. She let the curse seal spread over her body. Her now golden eyes showed a hit of regret. Though she didn't show it, Sasuke knew her heart was crying.

Sasuke went to her side and looked down at her. "Sure you still want to do this?"

She nodded slightly. "It's the only way." Her bubble gum pink hair began to grow long and turn red. Her once peach skin turned chocolate brown. "I'll leave Naruto to you if he attacks."

The over powering chakra caused Shikamaru to lose control of his jutsu. When she was in the curse seal's full form, Sakura disappeared from her spot and was behind Shikamaru.

"Take care of Ino for me Shikamaru." Sakura said with a hit of sorrow in her voice.

With that said, Sakura knocked out the Nara genius. Kakashi lifted his headband to use his Sharingan, but Sakura had reached him before he could lift up his head band.

'_Sakura's much faster than before!'_ Kakashi thought.

"Arigatou for everything you've done sensei."

Sakura's right leg collided with his gut at such a force that he crashed into Yamato and Jiraiya, all three knocked out from the forceful impact.

"Sakura-chan, what are you doing?" Naruto yelled out, trying to believe that what was happening was all a bad dream.

Sakura didn't answer, but walked toward the others. Unable to watch any farther, Lee rushed in.

"Gomen Sakura-san, but you leave me with no other choice." Lee reappeared in front of Sakura. "Konoha Senpuu."

All Lee was able to kick was air. Sakura reappeared next to him quickly knocked him out as Gai charged in to help his favorite student. In a blink of an eye, Sakura had attacked a pressure point by his neck, knocking him out.

"Senei Jashuu!"

Three snakes came flying out of Anko's sleeve toward Sakura. In one swift movement, Sakura grabbed them before they made contact with her body. With one pull, Anko was sent flying into a tree, taking Tenten with her.

Neji came up from behind to attack her chakra points, but when his hand made contact her with body, a puff of smoke revealed a log.

"Neji-nii-san, behind you!"

It was too late for him to react as Sakura's fist came in contact with his gut. Neji fell on his side, unconscious from the attack. Hinata was frightened; she didn't know what to do. Naruto was in too much shock to do anything. He just stood there watching, he couldn't bring himself to move or fight against Sakura.

The seal began to retreat back as Sakura reached into her pouch and took out a thin needle. She threw it at Hinata and it pierced her skin on her left arm. Hinata fell backward into Naruto's arms, unconscious from the drug that coated the needle.

Naruto finally snapped out of his trance and was the only one left standing. Sakura stood a few feet in front of him, her face still completely emotionless.

"Why are you doing this Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked as he laid Hinata down. "Tell me why!"

"We can't go back yet Naruto." Sakura replied plainly. Her expression never changed, but she was crying inside. "There's something Sasuke-kun and I have to do."

"DID YOU HAVE TO HURT EVERYONE INSTEAD OF TELLIND US ABOUT IT?"

"Would you let us go even if we told you dobe?" Sasuke said as he landed beside Sakura.

Naruto was speechless. All he wanted was to bring both of his closest friends, no his family, back home.

"What is your reason Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked sadly.

"They killed my parents, I need to know why."

Sasuke didn't know her reason for going with him until now. He noticed her eyes were gloomy when she revealed her reason.

'_You're turning out to be just like him.'_ Naruto thought.

He turned around and got a pack of supplies from his tent. He walked over to them, holding out what he had in his arms.

"It may not be much, but it should last you two a while." Naruto said calmly.

"You should be fighting us Naruto, not helping us." Sakura said as Sasuke took the supplies. "You're chances of becoming Hokage will lessen because of this."

"It doesn't matter."

"Becoming Hokage was your dream dobe."

"And it still is, I'll just have to try harder now." Naruto looked them in the eye. "But just promise me one thing." Sakura stared at him in confusion and Sasuke crooked a brow. "Promise me that you'll both come back to Konoha afterwards."

Sakura bit her lips, tears starting to flow from her eyes. "Don't worry Naruto, we'll return." She took of her headband and pulled out three letters from her pouch. "Take my headband with you Naruto. I want it back when we see each other again."

"And these?" Naruto asked referring to the letters.

"One is for Tsunade and the other is for everyone." Sasuke answered. "The last one is for you dobe."

Naruto put the letters into his pouch and tied Sakura's head band around his neck. He then walked up to Sakura and gave her a big bear hug. She returned the hug with more tears flowing down her cheek. Naruto was a big brother to her and it met a lot to her that he was still willing to help them despite the consequences he might face.

"Just be careful and come back to Konoha safely."

Naruto released Sakura and turned his gaze toward Sasuke. "Teme, don't hurt her anymore. Sakura-chan has gone through enough pain because of us two."

"Don't worry dobe, I won't." Sasuke said then smirked. "You should worry more about yourself, especially when you eat so much ramen."

"Don't change the subject teme!" Naruto yelled. "And ramen is good for you!"

Sakura's tears stopped and had a small smile on her face, but she still felt miserable inside. It was like they were a team again with Sasuke and Naruto constantly arguing.

"Oy teme."

Sasuke looked at Naruto and saw that he held up his left hand as a gesture for his friendship. He clapped his left hand against Naruto's with a smirk on his face. This lightened Naruto's face to his happy and hyper like self with his gleaming smile showing.

"It's almost like the good old days." Naruto said as he withdrew his hand. "You two better get going. I'll handle things here."

Sasuke and Sakura tool one last glance at Naruto before they jumped off into the trees.

'_Just come back to Konoha… alive.'_

—xXx—

Sasuke and Sakura went nonstop until it was sunrise. They stopped by a river to rest and fill their canteens with water.

Sasuke noticed that his fiancée wasn't her usual happy self. Her facial expression was depressing and he knew that she was holding back all her tears.

He walked up beside her. "Sakura." The said person turned and faced him. Sasuke wrapped his strong lean arms around her petite body and whispered into her ear. "You don't have to hold back your tears Sakura."

With that said, Sakura let her tears fall freely. "He showed me…how they died…I saw…my parents die…"Sakura said between sobs. "It hurts… so much… Sasuke-kun…"

Sasuke knew exactly how she felt. He too had witnessed his clan's death through the eyes of Itachi. He held on to her tighter, his left hand rubbing her back to calm her.

"I…miss them…"

"I know," Sasuke whispered. "I know."

Sasuke held on to her, letting her pour her bottle up emotions.

'_You'll pay for the pain you caused her Itachi!'_

* * *

**I was hard to make an ending for this chapter, but I did it.**

**Yes I had Sakura attack her friends, but Naruto didn't engaged in the battle in any way. I didn't want Naruto and Sasuke to end up fighting so I kind of left Naruto out of the battle. I kept debating over whether or not to have Naruto help them and finally decided that he would help them.**

**The illusion that Sasuke created, as you've read, used one of their memories with Sakura. I don't think the location of where it happened really matter so I didn't put it in. If anyone disagrees with me, I'll be happy to edit this chapter.**

**Anyways, summer is coming to an end very soon so it's going to take awhile for future updates. I'm hoping to finish this fanfic before the end of this year before starting a new one.**

**That's it for now, until next chapter! Remember to review! Ja!**


	16. Chap 16: Family

**Konichiwa minna-san. Arigatou to those that read. To those that reviewed, ARIGATOU! (tackle hugs and passes out virtual sweets) Gomen for any mistakes in my writing.**

**I'm happy that readers enjoy the last chapter. Yes the last chapter was kind of sad, but it brought Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura closer together, yay! I tried to have Sasuke comfort Sakura at the end of the last chapter and it was hard because Sasuke isn't that kind sort of a person. It was a little hard to put this chapter together because it mostly revolves around team seven and their relationships since they were genins. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this fanfic.**

* * *

Chapter 16: Family

Naruto watched the two most important people in his life leave him. It pained him, but he knew they weren't going to turn back once they set their goal.

'_**You chose the most unusual people to be considered as your family kid.'**_ The Kyuubi said.

'_I know, but the three of us are special.'_ Naruto inwardly smiled. _'They're the closest people I have to a real family.'_

'_**Human…I'll never be able to understand you.'**_

Naruto didn't really care what the Kyuubi thought. All that really matter to him at the moment was that his bond with Sasuke was patched up and Sakura was happy. One thing that did bother him was this unusual dream he had before he was disturbed by Ino's loud mouth.

* * *

_The sound of dripping water echoed through the dim passages of the endless wall ways. The path he walked was familiar to him, for it leads to the gates the Kyuubi was locked behind. When he arrived, standing by the gates leaning against the wall was none other than Uchiha Sasuke._

"_Am I dreaming?"_

"_Think what you want of it dobe."_

"_What are you doing here teme?"_

"_I won't let her die."Sasuke opened his eyes and looked at Naruto. "I will protect her no matter what happens."_

"_Who are you talking about Sasuke-teme?" Naruto asked confused. "Who's her?" Then it suddenly came to him. "Oh, you mean Sakura-chan."_

_Sasuke nodded. "You don't have to worry about her."_

"_She's been through a lot Sasuke-teme, yet she always has a smile on her face." Naruto said sadly as he stood next to Sasuke. "It seems the only ones that really know how she feels are just us two."_

"_I know she's torn up inside. Sakura's shows those false smiles so that no one would worry about her."_

"_But I can't help but worry teme. Sakura-chan is like a little sister to me and I'll thrash whoever hurts her or tries to get close to her!"_

"_Then you might hate me for this…" Sasuke turned his gaze at the blond beside him. "Naruto, Sakura and I are e-"_

* * *

'_Damn Ino and her loud mouth!' _Naruto let out a frustrated sigh.

'_**You were asleep so it was only a dream.'**_ The Kyuubi said.

'_Who cares whether or not it was a dream? Teme was going to tell me something important or he wouldn't be calling me by my real name!'_ Naruto scratched his head violently. _'What the hell would he say that involved both him and Sakura-chan?'_

Not wanting to bother with the thought of it anymore, Naruto went to clean up the camp. With everyone knocked out for at least half a day, he had no other choice but to use his specialty.

"Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!"

About twenty clones were created and admittedly went on to cleaning up the camp, packing up sleeping bags, folding up the tent, gathering things together. It didn't take very long for everything to be packed up. With everything put away, Naruto put the packs over its proper owner and had his clones support each of his knocked out comrades.

* * *

It took a while before Sakura could finally calm down. Sasuke didn't stop her and just did his best to comfort her. He knew she had bottled up so much pain that Sakura was finally able to free herself from it now.

Sakura was away on a mission when her parents were killed. With lack of evidence, the ANBU squad assumed that it was the doing to of either rogue or missing nins. When Tsunade broke the news to her when she returned, Sakura was trembling, trying to hold back her tears. The Godaime went over and hugged her apprentice and said some wise words to her.

"_Even the greatest shinobis can't keep their emotions bottled up forever. It's wiser to let it out before it eats your life away. We are humans after all."_

Sasuke embraced his kunoichi tightly. He planted a chaste kiss on her forehead then looked into her faintly puffy red eyes.

"Are you alright?" Sasuke asked in a whisper.

Sakura embraced him, nodding slightly. "Arigatou, Sasuke-kun. Arigatou for being here for me."

"I promised the dobe that I would take care of you." He pulled back from the embraced and leaded his face closer to hers. "And I don't want to see you miserable."

He closed the gap between them with a passionate kiss and pulled her in closer to him. She let a moan escape her mouth as he ravished her mouth. Sasuke licked her lower lip and she granted him entrance. Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. They parted when their lungs were screeching from the lack of oxygen.

"I hope Naruto is going to be okay." Sakura said as he laid her head against his chest. "He helped us when he wasn't supposed to."

"The dobe chose to help us." Sasuke said calmly. "The three of use became a family when we first became a team and I'm not going to let my brother down."

Sakura knew her two teammates carried a special bond when they were genins, but didn't know what it was exactly. Now she knew what it was, they were like brothers. Even when they had their arguments and rivalries, they treated each other like brothers.

"Naruto's like a brother to me too…I definitely won't let him down either."

Sasuke broke the embrace, but his hands were position at her waist. "There's a town nearby. We'll go there to spend the night."

There was a soft expression on her face as she looked into the eyes of her lover. It seemed their peaceful moment together would never be interrupted until Sakura's stomach growled. A hint of pink was visible on her cheeks from embarrassment while Sasuke just chuckled. Sakura was about to poke her stomach to stop hopefully stop it from making any more noise, but was stopped when Sasuke grabbed her wrist.

"You shouldn't hurt yourself in any way Sakura." Sasuke whispered into her ear, smirking. "We wouldn't want anything to happen to you or our child."

"Nani?" Sakura's face blush ten different shades of pink of what Sasuke just said. "B-b-but we d-didn't…I m-mean we did b-but…I c-couldn't be…"

Sasuke pulled back smirking at her reaction. He was amused by her stuttering and panic expression. Before Sakura realize what was happening, she found her lips locked with Sasuke's in a passionate kiss. He was about to deepen the kiss, but the hunger of his own stomach stopped him.

Sakura broke the kiss giggling, happy to know that she wasn't the only one who was hungry. "Ne, Sasuke-kun, I think we should eat first before we go."

"Hn." Sasuke responded, but in his mind, he was mad. _'Damn stomach!'_

For a small quick mean, Sasuke went to catch some fish from the river. Sakura began a small fire to cook their meal. After eating, they headed toward the town Sasuke had mentioned earlier.

* * *

It was late in the evening that Naruto had stopped to rest and set up camp. Even though they were about half a day away from Konoha, he decided to stop because he had used up too much chakra to cover two days worth of travel. Because he had several clones, he also had to depend on the Kyuubi's chakra to get them this far that fast.

'_**You're an idiot.'**_ The Kyuubi said. _**'You didn't have to bring them this far on your own. I was forced to give you a lot chakra!'**_

'_I did it for the teme and Sakura-chan!'_ Naruto yelled at the demon. _'If I didn't bring the gang here, they would be going after them the moment they wake up!'_

'_**You're willing to risk a lot for those two. I think maybe too much.'**_

'_They're than just my comrades; Sasuke-teme and Sakura-chan are my family.'_

After the Naruto clones had finished setting up camp, they disappeared in a puff of smoke leaving the camp silence, except for the sounds of nature. Naruto sat on the grown with his back against a tree, watching over camp.

His cerulean eyes stared up at the orange sky. The clouds were passing slowly and the sun was leaving the sky. Naruto closed his eyes, taking in the feeling of the world around him. The peaceful surroundings remained him of a time team seven was camping out after completing a mission.

Kakashi was reading the infamous porn book, Icha Icha Paradise, written by the old perverted legendary sennin Jiraiya. Sasuke was just lay back with his eyes closed and Sakura was sound asleep, undisturbed by any possible threats. He on the other hand was eating his instant bowls of ramen he had brought with him.

Those were the good old days Naruto would always remember. Kakashi always late with his lame excuses, Sasuke being the arrogant ice cube, and Sakura with her warm smiles that always greeted them. Then after their training, they would go to his favorite ramen stand, Ichiraku's, to eat. It seemed that their days together as genins would never end, but it did.

Naruto opened his cerulean blue eyes and saw that his comrades began to wake.

"We're not very far from Konoha now." Naruto said calmly as he closed his eyes again. "We should arrive at noon tomorrow if you leave when the sun rises."

Everyone was confused by what Naruto had just said. The camp they had set up after finding Sakura was at least a two days trip away from the village, and now they were half a day away.

The memories of what happen last night came back to Ino. "Where's Sakura?!" Ino yelled out as she looked around to see if she was around anywhere.

Naruto didn't say anything and just sat, ignoring everyone and enjoying his surroundings.

"Where are they Naruto?" Jiraiya asked seriously. "Where are Uchiha and Haruno?" Naruto didn't answer. "Don't make it hard for yourself, Naruto. You know what the punishment could be for helping criminals."

He stayed silent, but clenched his fists tightly out of anger. They were referred to as criminals; the two people he held dear to him were considered criminals. Naruto opened his eyes and looked at the people around him. Instead of his warm cerulean blue they always saw, they were cold, like the onyx eyes of Sasuke.

Ino was getting irritated for not getting an answer to any of the asked questions. She stomped over to Naruto and slapped his across the face, hard. Naruto didn't do anything; he just turned his head and stared back at Ino, his face stoic. Ino's couldn't control her emotions and slapped Naruto over the face again.

"Where are they Naruto?!" Tears were beginning to build up in her eyes. She grabbed the collar of his shirt and shook him. "Tell me where they are!"

Ino couldn't hold her emotion in any more and snapped. Hinata and Tenten went over to comfort her, seeing Ino like that caused them to shed a few tears.

Kakashi didn't understand what was wrong with Naruto. He had wanted to bring them back, but now it seemed he was okay with them gone. Kakashi noticed that Naruto's determination seemed to have diminished after their reunion, after seeing the images from that genjutsu.

Did the genjutsu really affect him that much? Sakura's body lifeless laying on the ground while he and Sasuke thunder down on Itachi. Was it his fear of having the Kyuubi taking over his body? He was unable to control his own body's actions and protect those precious to him.

Kakashi looked at his student, one of the three students he had ever passed. Naruto's facial expression was stoic like how Sasuke's would be. Unaffected by the words Jiraiya said and the actions of Ino. One thing he noticed was the pink leaf headband around Naruto's neck.

"Naruto, do you remember what I said when the three of you first became a team?" Kakashi asked calmly. "People who don't follow the rules are trash-"

"But people who don't take care of their friends are worse than trash!" Naruto yelled as he cut off Kakashi. "Sasuke-teme and Sakura-chan are worth breaking rules for. They're more than friends to me, they're my family! I don't give a damn if I'm trash; at least I'm not worst then it."

"Naruto-"

"They're gone." Naruto said as clam as he could after letting his anger out. He pulled out the letter he was requested to give them. "They left this for all of you."

He placed it in front of him and jumped to sit on tree branch above. Kakashi stepped forth, picking up the letter to read. His visible eye was cast down, sadden.

"What does it say Kakashi-sempai?" Yamato asked.

_By the time you read this, the two of us will be long. There's no use in coming after us, just go back to Konoha and resume your life like you would always do after a mission. If we find anyone of you coming after us, we won't show any mercy toward you, despite our pass relations. We will attack you with the intention to kill and do so if you force us to. I've chosen to follow this path and won't turn around. I chose to live my life this way and don't regret my decision._

_Haruno Sakura_

The three young kunoichis were shedding tears. They became really close friends of Sakura's after the first chunnin exams. Shikamaru, Neji, and Lee couldn't believe that a promising kunoichi like Sakura would end up choosing the path that she did. The adults didn't know what to say. A bright and strong kunoichi like Sakura was like the light of Konoha, but now she was a part of the darkness.

Kakashi was confused. The three students he ever had weren't like that. He knew them better than that.

Naruto was never cold toward people like how Sasuke was to people. Sasuke never really cared much about those around him, but his protected Sakura. The young cherry blossom would never hurt the people closest to her, yet her words said something else.

He knew his three students as if they were his own kids. Sakura was the sweet innocent little girl who would always be protected whether she needed it or not. Sasuke was the arrogant boy who wanted to be the strongest and the best at everything. Then there was Naruto, the hyper active one of the group who would always try to show off.

Kakashi dropped the letter and leaped up to the tree branch where Naruto was sitting on. He was sitting there with his eyes closed.

"There's more to it, isn't there Naruto?" Kakashi asked in a low voice so that only Naruto could hear. With his left hand, Kakashi rubbed his temples. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I want in on it."

Naruto looked up at his sensei, with a brow crooked. "Never thought I would hear those words coming from you sensei." A smirk like smile was plastered on his face. "But I did expect you to figure it out."

Kakashi looked down at the rest of the gang. They seemed to have accepted that Sakura was now no longer a shinobi of Konoha. They were beginning to cook a meal and prepare for the night.

"Same here Naruto." Kakashi said with a sigh, looking back at Naruto. "But the three of you weren't just my students; you guys were like my own children. And family helps one another."

"Did we really have that kind of an effect on you Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked in an amused tone. "I can understand you seeing Sakura-chan as your own daughter, but the teme and me? We were like the little demons of the team."

"But you and Sasuke reminded me of myself when I was your age." The white haired shinobi let a little chuckle escape his mouth. "So are you going to inform me on Sasuke and Sakura?"

Naruto closed his eyes and leaned back into the tree with a wide smile. "When we get back home I'll tell you everything I know."

**

* * *

**

**That's the end for this chapter. If there are any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Yes I know there are several readers that may hate Ino for slapping Naruto twice. I was going to have her blab out stuff, but that would be too much. I included a small paragraph on Sakura's parents so to know what happened. I tried to put a tiny bit of humor in this chapter so that it wouldn't be all gloomy.**

**Yes Kakashi is on Sasuke and Sakura's side. YAY! The original members of team seven are like a family…an odd family. LOL. I had Naruto call himself and Sasuke the little demons of the team, lol, I thought it was cute.**

**That's it for now, until next chapter. Remember to review! Virtual sweets to those reviewers that can figure out what Sasuke was going to say to Naruto! Ja!**


	17. Chap 17: With You

**Konichiwa minna-san. Arigatou to those that read and reviewed. (virtual sweets for all!) Gomen for the minor mistakes presence.**

**Gomen for the late update. Yes the original members of team seven are a weird family. Kakashi is on their side, despite the possible punishments he may face. I was kind of sad that those who reviewed didn't try to guess what Sasuke was going to say to Naruto. To the very few that did…ARIGATOU! Sasuke was going to tell Naruto that he and Sakura were engaged! Anyways, this chapter is more focused on Sasuke and Sakura. Enjoy.**

**WARNING: There are LEMONS in this chapter. If you hate lemons, skips it, don't say I didn't warn you.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I own this fanfic.**

* * *

Chapter 17: With You 

By the time Sasuke and Sakura reached a town, the sun was beginning to set. The place wasn't all that pleasant, but unfortunately it was the nearest town and Sasuke's needed a restful night. He mentioned that he had an important business to attend to while they were there.

After a good meal, they went to a lavish inn. When the man at the front desk saw Sasuke, he admittedly stood up and bowed.

"Uchiha-sama!" The man looked up. "Your usual room is prepared and ready. Please follow me, Uchiha-sama."

'_**It seems Sasuke has been here often.'**_ Sakura's inner said. _**'How's your head feeling?'**_

'_I've had better days. Arigatou for getting me out.'_

'_**Gomen for taking a while to break you out. Even with me in your mind, I couldn't stop Itachi until the second time.'**_

'_Don't remind me of it. It's a horrible experience I wish to not remember.'_

The man led the two to their room without glancing back. Sakura could tell that he was somewhat frighten by Sasuke for he was walking pretty fast. The two sennins were walking at an even pace not too far behind the person Sakura assumed to be the owner.

When they reached the room, it was secluded away from all the other in its own area. The man hurried to open the door then handed the key to Sasuke and darted away quickly.

The room was well organized. It had a balcony with a nice view of the calm landscape, a private hot spring, a large futon, and a wardrobe supplied with clothing and weapons. The bathroom had both a large tub and an open shower with all necessities there.

Sasuke closed the door after they both entered in then set their things in a corner where it wouldn't get in the way. They always set their sandals neatly by there too. Sasuke sat on the futon, his face expressionless, but his eyes showed a hit of sadness.

Sakura stood in front of him. "Sasuke-kun?" The said person looked up and faced her. "Daijoubu?" Sasuke nodded slightly and stared back at his lover with warm loving eyes. She cupped his cheeks in her hands, rubbing her thumb over his skin. "You should freshen up before going to sleep."

He placed his hands over hers, a smirk upon his lips. "Then join me."

Sakura suddenly found herself carried toward the bathroom, bridal style by Sasuke. She didn't disagree with the idea. She had nothing to hide from him now after exposing herself to him not too long ago. Though she didn't show it, her encounter with Itachi and seeing the illusion from Tsukiyomi changed her. Sakura wanted to spend more time with him and cherish every moment she had with her raven haired shinobi.

But she wasn't the only one that was affected by Itachi.

Sasuke knew his brother had a reason to have Sakura kidnapped, but what confused him was that Itachi had someone do the work for him. Why didn't Itachi come himself to kidnap her? One thing that really bothered him was that Itachi now knew what Sakura met to him and would kill her to make his live miserable all over again. It was like his brother's job was to make his life a living hell everything he found happiness. Now, every moment he had with her was special and he would make the most of it.

When they entered the bathroom, Sasuke put her down on her feet and crashed his lips on Sakura's for a kiss full of passion and lust. She returned the kiss with just as much feeling and force. Their hands were sliding along each other's body, undoing their clothing and letting it drop to the floor. They soon broke the kiss when their lungs demanded for air and were completely undressed.

She stepped away from Sasuke and went over to the shower, turning the water on warm. The water shower down on them as he fastened his arms around her petite figure. He began to trail hot kisses on her neck, occasionally nibbling on her light skin leaving his love bits.

"Sasuke-kun…." Sakura moaned, enjoying the pleasure she felt. "We really should be showering…."

She felt him smirk against her skin. "Demo I am, Sakura." He said between kisses.

"Iie Sasuke-kun." Sakura said with a small giggle escaping her lips. "You're just kissing me." A sigh escaped her lips. "But this does feel relaxing."

"Then I'll continue…"

"Iie." She turned her head slightly to look at his face. "You need this relaxing shower and a night's rest more than I do."

"Hn." Sasuke said, freeing Sakura from his grasp.

Like the last time they showered together, they ended up washed each other. While Sakura was rubbing his shoulders, she took the time to massage him a little to let Sasuke relax more. She had noticed that he was a bit tensed ever since she had woken up from the coma state she was in.

When the last bit of soap was washed off their bodies, Sakura turned off the water and felt a large towel drape over her showers. The towel covered up to her mid thigh and admittedly soaked the water on her body.

She hurried to dry herself and wrapped the towel around her figure. Her hair was only a little damped, but would dry quickly. Sakura turned around to see Sasuke sitting at the edge of the large tube, watching her.

'_**Sakura's all mine!'**_

'_What do you mean all yours?'_

'**Oh…I mean all ours!'**

He had dried himself faster than Sakura and just had a towel around his waist. Instead of his hair spiking back, it was flopped down, semi moist after their shower.

"You don't have to watch me, Sasuke-kun." Sakura said giggling as she turned her back toward him. "You've seen everything before."

He chuckled. "What if I wanted to?" Sasuke was suddenly behind her with his arms around her waist. "You wouldn't deny my request, right Sakura-_chan_?" He whispered hotly into her right ear.

"You're a perv-"

Sakura was unable to finish her sentence when Sasuke kissed her. She turned so that she was facing him and draped her arms around his neck. He pulled back and leaned his forehead against hers, smirking.

"You still have it on."

"Huh? You mean the necklace?" She looked down at the necklace then into his eyes. "It's something special you gave me and no matter what, I won't take it off."

"You're annoying."

"I know." She let a true smile form on her lips. "But you'll never get enough of me."

'_**She's damn right about that!'**_ Sasuke's inner self said.

Sakura pulled him down until their lips met again, arms still draped around his neck. Sasuke gently tugged on the towel around Sakura and it fell to the ground, exposing her luscious body. She moaned into the kiss when his tongue slid through her lips.

His hands were position on her hips began to slide down her body to her thighs. He gripped her thighs firmly and lifted her up until her face was leveled with his. She wrapped her legs around his waist as Sasuke's arms draped around her buttocks and lower back, supporting her as he walked out of the bathroom.

Sakura pulled away to catch her breath from the heated kiss. He kissed the corner of her lips, trail down her jaw line to her neck. When he began to suck on her skin between her neck and shoulder, Sakura's moans filled his ears. Her feet fumbled with the towel around his waist until it finally came undone and fell to the ground.

Sasuke's knee hit the bed and he was about to fall forward, but he held his balance. He laid the pink hair beauty down as his hands traced her figure. Fits of giggles escaped her lips when his fingers touched her ticklish spot.

"Muo, Sasuke-kun… you're not… being fair…" Sakura said between giggles trying to struggle away until he stopped.

He smirked and began to kiss up her abdomen, leaving a few bite marks when she moaned out. Sasuke licked the valley between her breasts as his skilled hand gave them a gentle squeeze. Sakura threw her head back from the feeling of sheer bliss running all over her body.

"Sasuke-kun…"

Sasuke took her nipple into his mouth and sucked on it like a baby demanding milk from its mother. The taste of her was intoxicating. Moans left her again when she felt his tongue swirl around her harden peak before switching over to give the same treatment to her other breast.

When he pulled back, Sasuke found himself underneath Sakura. A seductive smile was on her lips as she straddled his waist. She leaned down until her lips were against his right ear.

"I'm not going to let you have all the fun Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke smirked at what his blossom said to him, wondering what she was planning on doing to him. She began to kiss down his neck, her small slender fingers outlining his handsome toned body. When her lips reached his chest, Sakura got several groans out of him when she nibbled on his peach skin, leaving her own love bites on him.

Sakura stopped and moved so that she was laying at on his right side. Her right hand reached his hard erection and brushed her fingers along his harden member. Sasuke grunt from her touch as she did it again. Her fingers slowly rapped his throbbing member, teasing him.

She heard a growl come from Sasuke, understand that hated the teasing, but somewhat liked the pleasure. She looked up at him and gave him one of her genius smiles before beginning to pump him. Bliss was flowing through him as he tried to keep an angry face for the pleasurable torture Sakura was putting him through.

Unable to stand it any longer, Sasuke grabbed her hand away from his member, not wanting to be dominated by his fiancée, the beautiful cherry blossom. She giggled at the man beside her then found herself pinned down, her arms by held down beside her head.

"That isn't funny Sakura." She pouted. Sasuke used his knees to spread her legs apart and position himself at her entrance, his tip teasing her. "But two can play at that game."

He lowered his head nipping on her most sensitive skin along her neck and grazed his member at her opening. Moans of pleasure and whimpers to have him in her came from her. Sakura's breath began to get enraged from the actions of her raven hair fiancé.

"Onegai… Sasuke-kun…." Sakura begged between breaths.

She knew this was play back for what she did to him and she couldn't stand it anymore. Sasuke stopped his teasing and looked up at her. His own onyx orbs were filled with love and lust as he eyed Sakura. Her face was flush and her innocent emerald orbs started back at him, wanting him. He leaned down smirking then kissed her passionately on the lips. Sasuke freed her arms and they wrapped around his neck as he thrust into her. One arm wrapped around her petite luscious frame and other supported his weight.

Sakura moaned into the kiss from the sheer bliss she felt through her whole body. They pulled back from the kiss for air as Sasuke pulled out of her and thrust back in with more force. Sakura arched her back moaning his name, her finger digging into his back. Her walls tightened around his length, causing him to grunt.

"Sakura…" He breathed out as he thrust in and out of her with more force and a faster pace.

Sweat dripped from their heated body and on the bed sheets under them. Her right hand moved up to his head and clutched his raven hair. Her moans became louder with each thrust. Sakura threw her head back and screamed Sasuke's name in pure ecstasy as her orgasm hit. Sasuke gave one last hard thrust before he reached his own climax and spilled his seeds into her.

Sasuke fell on top of her from weariness, after he pulled out from her. They were panting heavily to catch their breath, both drenched in their sweat. When his breath began to even out, Sasuke moved and lay by her side. Disliking the lost of warmth, she snuggle closer to him. His arms wrapped around her body with his left hand brushing threw her pink locks until he slept.

Sakura rested her head in the junction between his neck and shoulder, listening to his even breathing. She pulled the blanket over their exposed bodies and placed a light kiss on Sasuke's lips.

"Aishiteru, Sakura."

Sakura instantly looked up at Sasuke, unsure that what she heard actually came from the sleeping Uchiha. He was never one to speak his feelings, yet those very words were said by him.

Sakura just smiled at his words. Through the chances of hearing him say those special words to her again was less, she was happy to have heard it at least once from him.

"Aishiteru, Sasuke-kun."

* * *

_The sun was shining brightly down on the renovated area of the Uchiha district. The mansion he once lived in as a child was no longer deserted for standing there with open arms was none other than the woman he would call his wife._

_She wore an elegant navy blue kimono with brilliant designs of cherry blossoms and tints of emerald green. On the back was the red and white fan that symbolized the Uchiha clan. The obi tied around her waist was a beautiful shade of red and gold. Her silk pink locks were pinned up perfectly with several chopsticks, small jewels hanging off the end of it. A few strains of hair were let loose and encircle her face making her emerald orbs shine. But there was one odd thing he noticed, her lower abdomen was slightly swollen._

_He saw himself walk up to the pinked haired goddess and embrace her heartily. He then kneed down in front of her and placed his left ear against her swollen abdomen, listening to something. He stood back up and mouthed something silently to the woman standing in front._

_She was very happy and laughing slightly at what was said to her. A true smile was on her face as she pecked him lightly on the cheek before pulling him into the mansion._

_Everything seemed perfect, but what he saw next changed everything._

_He was standing the very room his parents were murdered in; however the body on the ground wasn't his parents. Her body lay in a puddle blood and those lifeless green eyes stared back at him. Towering over the body was none other than the person that ruined his life, Uchiha Itachi._

"_Hate me. Despise me. Run and survive in the most despicable way."_

_Suddenly, memories of his clan's massacre flashed before his eyes._

* * *

Sasuke admittedly sat up panting hard as sweat rolled down his body. The nightmares he thought were gone for good came back, but what made it worse was that Sakura was in it. It bothered him more than anything else in the world. 

Was he, the sole survivor of the Uchiha massacre, forced to live the rest of his life in darkness? No, that couldn't be. He had found a family when team seven was formed, but turned his back on them. Then Sakura comes along and now the hole in his heart was filled.

He propped up his right leg resting his arm on his knee while the other hand massaged his temples.

"Daijoubu, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke looked to his left and saw Sakura up. Her right hand held the blanket, covering her exposed chest.

"Aa…"

"It was a nightmare, wasn't it?" Sasuke didn't say anything. Sakura put her hand over his left and gave it a squeeze. "You can tell me Sasuke-kun."

"My worst memories are still haunting me."

Sakura knew he was referring to his clan's massacre. There wasn't much she could do for him but try to get his mind off it. She released her hold on the blanket and wrapped her arms around his neck. She pulled him closer to her to have Sasuke rest his head on her shoulder.

"I know it's painful. Don't think too much about it and it won't bother you."

Sasuke pulled her into his chest, their bodies pressed against each others. He felt very fortunate to have someone like Sakura with him, yet part of him felt as if he didn't deserve her. Sasuke had caused her so much pain, but she never stopped loving him.

"Think of something else to take your mind off it."

Sasuke looked up at her, a smile like smirk on his lips. She placed her forehead against his with a smile on her own face, knowing what was on his mind.

—xXx—

Sasuke woke up first, feeling a bit tired from the heated activity with Sakura. He peered toward the window and saw that the sun barely begun to rise. It was a habit of waking up early to go train, but it was still way too early to go training. A sigh escaped his mouth as he looked at the blossom sound asleep beside him, enclosed in his strong lean arms. He felt her stir a little then snuggled closer to him.

"Aishiteru… Sasuke-kun… don't… go…." She whispered softly.

Those words reminded him of the time was leaving Konoha. Sakura was trying to stop him from going to Orochimaru and confessed her feelings for him.

He brought her body closer to him and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. Not wanting to waste the time to gain more sleep, Sasuke closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.

—xXx—

Sasuke woke up fist again and looked at the time to see that it was almost ten. Sakura was still fast asleep in his arms. He wanted to stay there in bed and watch her, but Sasuke had some important business to attend to. He slowly moved from under her and placed a pillow in his place then walked off into the bathroom for a hot shower.

When he was done, Sasuke walked out of the steaming room with a towel around his waist. He looked over toward the bed and saw that Sakura was still asleep.

'_I must have kept her up.'_

Sasuke went over to the closet and pulled out some clothing. Fully dressed, he was wearing clothing similar to the ones he always wore, but the only difference was instead of his usual white haori shirt, it was a black sleeveless one.

He walked over to the futon and sat down, Sakura's backside facing her. He leaned his head down toward her ear and whispered to her.

"Sakura, I'll be back in a while." Sakura let a small whine in protest. He just smirked at her childish behavior. "Then I'll leave one of my summoning to keep you company."

She nodded slightly and hugged the pillow closer. Sasuke removed the guard on his left arm and smeared a bit of blood on the tattoo. After several quick hand seals, he put his palm on the bed.

"Kyuichose No Jutsu."

When the puff of smoke cleared, there stood Yuki, half asleep. She let out a small yawn and looked around its surroundings before turning its gaze toward Sasuke.

"Yuki, I want you to stay here with Sakura. Keep her company while I'm gone."

"Hai!"

With everything set, Sasuke put the arms guard back on and headed toward the door. He took a black hooded cloak with his and put it over his shoulder.

"I'll have some things set up for you later." Sasuke said before be closed the door.

When his chakra presence was far, Yuki slithered over so that she was facing the kunoichi. Sakura sensed the snake looking at her and opened her eyes slightly. She brought her left hand over and stroke Yuki's head.

"I don't feel like getting up." Sakura said. Yuki made a small hiss in agreement. "Want to sleep a little longer?"

Yuki nodded slightly. "Sleeping is a good idea, Sakura-sama."

* * *

**Yay, I'm done with this chapter! If there was anything unclear, don't hesitate to ask. For the dream the Sasuke had, what I did was have him see a glimpse of his possible future then turn it into a nightmare. I tried to describe Sasuke's dream so it would seem he was a bystander instead of being a part of it. The part where Itachi appeared is like a possible event if Sasuke and Sakura did go back to Konoha.**

**I'm planning to add/edit stuff to the previous chapters posted because when I went over it… it just bothered me that there were things missing or parts didn't sound very good. Please bear with me on my tardiness for updating. Because of school, I'll try my best to update as often as I can.**

**That's it for now, until next chapter. Remember to review! Virtual sweets for all!**


	18. Chap 18: Happiness

**Konichiwa minna-san! Arigatou to those that reviewed! Gomen for the mistakes in this chapter.**

**Gomen for the late update. Some have noticed that Sasuke has gotten somewhat soft, hence his nightmare he had with seeing Sakura dead and his clan's massacre. No worries, Sasuke will return back to being the dark bad boy everyone knows and loves! But in later chapters…hehe. For now, enjoy this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this fanfic.**

* * *

Chapter 18: Happiness

The gang woke up when the sun was beginning to rise. Naruto had stayed up on the tree instead of sharing his tent with his comrades. He knew they looked at him differently again, but it wasn't because of the demon sealed within him, it was because of his choice.

He was a traitor in their eyes for helping two high ranked criminals. Naruto was always determined to complete a mission and he felt that he had done so. Everyone else would think differently, but Naruto felt the mission was completed with a total success and that was all that mattered to him.

Kakashi was relieved that Sasuke and Sakura weren't what they were assumed to be. The students he had first judged to be dreamers had struggled their way to the top, determined to reach their goals and dreams. He was proud of them, proud of the three students who he then saw as his own.

After a quick breakfast, they all headed back to Konoha. They kept an eye on Naruto, suspicious of what he might do. Kakashi was the only one that didn't, but he had a lot on his mind.

Tsunade would want know the truth of what really happened.

They sped off threw the forest, jumping from branch to branch. They all noticed that Naruto and Kakashi didn't seem to take the mission failure as a bad thing.

When the gang returned the gates of Konoha, it was almost noon. The shinobis guarding the gates told them that were immediately ordered to go to the Hokage office unless they were severally injured. Since they were in good condition, none could get out of not seeing the Hokage herself. When they got there, Tsunade was sitting in her seat with her back turned to the group. She stared out to the beautiful view of Konoha.

"Where are Sakura and Uchiha?" The Hokage asked, but didn't get an answer. "Do I have to repeat myself again?"

Everyone was beginning to feel uneasy at the presence of the Tsunade with a failed mission. But it wasn't just any failed mission, it involved two 'dangerous' S-rank criminals that were former leaf nins. How were they supposed to tell the Godaime that Sakura chose to be a criminal?

"Did you not understand what I just asked?"

Shizune was present in the room, carrying Tsunade's pet pig Ton-Ton. She looked at the ninja and knew admittedly knew that it wasn't good. She then turned to Naruto and Kakashi and noticed they weren't disappointed in a fail mission.

Kakashi pulled out his favorite novel from his pouch and started reading while Naruto had a smiling face. They were both used to this kind of an atmosphere and would have to wait until everyone left before telling Tsunade what she wanted to hear.

"They got away, Tsunade-baa-chan." Naruto said happily.

'_How can Naruto say it like there's nothing wrong with it!' _Shizune thought, beginning to panic mentally. _'Tsunade-sama isn't going to be happy about this!'_

Tsunade turned her chair around, facing everyone in the room. Her eyes were darken and they were beginning to get frighten.

"Leave if you don't want to end up in the hospital because of Tsunade-sama." Kakashi whispered loud enough for the shinobis by him to hear.

"I want all your reports in by tomorrow afternoon. NO EXCUSES!"

With those words said, everyone left the room. The only ones that remained were Tsunade, Shizune, Naruto, and Kakashi.

"Are you going to tell me what happened or do I have to force you to?"

"I let them leave." Naruto said with a hint of fright in his voice. Kakashi put his book back into his pouch and stood behind his student, supporting him. "I'm not going to force them to come back. I'll come back when they want to."

Shizune looked at the two shinobis then at the Hokage. Tsunade turned her chair around again to face the view of the village.

"But they did tell me to give you this." Naruto said as he pulled out the letter from his pouch and walked over to hand it to the Godaime. "It from them, you should read it."

Tsunade took the letter from Naruto and opened it up slowly, as if afraid of what was written. She took a deep breath before reading the letter. Her angry face turned into a smile and a few tears of happiness began to run down her cheeks.

"They wrote this for the four of us to hear." Tsunade said happily in a low voice. "Parts are written by them individually."

"Can you read it out loud for us Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked.

"Aa… I would like to hear what Sasuke and Sakura wrote too." Kakashi said.

Tsunade took in a deep breath before she began to read.

_Tsunade-sama, Shizune-san, Kakashi-sensei, and Naruto/dobe,_

"Even in a letter, the teme still has to call me a dobe!" Naruto pouted, crossing his arms across his chest.

_By the time you read this letter, Shizune-san is in the office and Kakashi-sensei had figured out what's been going on. We believed that only you four should know. Gomen nasai. We know that we should have returned, but there are things that still need to be settled. _

_Hope everyone is doing okay after the attack I pulled on them. I know it wasn't right, but it was the only thing I could do in order to get away. After being kidnapped by Orochimaru, many things have happened. Yes I have to deal with that stupid curse mark that he put on me, but it has also changed my life so much._

_This next news will surprise you, especially the dobe. Whether you agree or disagree with what I have done will not matter. I, Uchiha Sasuke, have asked Haruno Sakura to become my wife. She had agreed to my request, despite what the future may hold for the two of us. I will protect her with my life._

"TEME PROPOSED TO SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto bellowed out. "They've been together or how long and now they're engaged!"

"If you think about it Naruto, it would explain how Sasuke's behavior when we were with him." Kakashi said.

"Do you two want to her the rest of what's written?" Tsunade asked impatiently.

Both admittedly closed their mouths.

_The hole in my heart has finally been filled and I'm happy. I've been hurt for so long after all I've gone through, but now it's gone. I know it may not last very long, but I'm cherishing every moment I have now._

_We know Naruto/the dobe want us to go back in Konoha. When what we set out to do has been completed, we will return to Konoha that is if we're still welcomed. We know he would wait by the gates to greet us._

"Of course Sasuke-teme and Sakura-chan are welcomed back!" Naruto yelled. "And I will be at the gate waiting for them!"

_But, no matter what condition we are in, we will keep our promise to Naruto/the dobe. Please don't let any of the things in this letter leak out until we have returned. If you know what's good for you Naruto/dobe, you'll keep that loud mouth of yours shut! When this whole ordeal is over with we will see each other once again._

_Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Sakura_

Naruto was filled with happiness from the letter. He couldn't wait for them to come back. His broken team would become a family very soon like back in their genin days. Kakashi was looking forward to seeing his two former students. Shizune was a bit surprised, but she knew at Sakura was finally found the happiness she deserved. Tsunade was more than happy. Sakura was no longer a young teenager, but a young woman.

"Remember, not a word about what you heard." Tsunade folded the letter and put it away in one of her desk drawers. "Especially you Naruto, not one word of what you've heard, understood."

"Hai." Naruto responded sheepishly. "Hehe… I won't. Knowing what the two of them can do, I don't even want to think about it."

Tsunade wiped away her tears with her hand and took out a small bottle of sake. She took in two shots in a hurry and put the bottle away.

"It's good to know Sakura is happy." Shizune said. "But I don't understand why she went with Sasuke."

"Why don't you tell us Naruto?" Kakashi said. "We're back in Konoha now and I'm not the only one who wants to know."

Naruto took a deep breath. "When the gang was unconscious, they told me some things." He turned so that he faced the three adults. "Sakura-chan is chasing after Akatsuki."

"That's understandable since Sasuke is after Itachi."

"They killed her parents." Everyone in the room was silent. "Sakura-chan found out, but I'm not sure how." He turned his gaze toward the vast view. "Sakura-chan told me that she was just going to find out why."

"She did take the news pretty hard when we told her." Shizune said as she set Ton-ton down on the ground. "Sakura was very depressed from the news that she kept to herself most of the time. Now she has found the happiness she always deserved.

"Ne, Tsunade-baa-chan, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto looked at the two adults. "Do you accept Sakura-chan being with teme? You know as well as I what the village will say to that."

"As long as Sakura is happy, I don't disapprove." Tsunade also looked out into the view. "Neither of them will let the words of the villagers bother what they fell for each other."

"And the villagers would be wise to keep their mouth shut unless they want to suffer the wrath of not only Sasuke's but Naruto's as well." Kakashi said as he pulled out his favorite orange porn book.

"You're damn straight about that!" Naruto yelled. "I'll Rasengan their asses if they say anything bad about teme and Sakura-chan!"

'_I can't wait to see the mini Uchihas running around!'_ Tsunade thought to herself.

"Ne, Tsunade-baa-chan, would that mean when there's mini Uchihas running around that you will be called baa-chan by them?" Naruto turned to face Tsunade with his hand under his chin in a thinking pose. "And Kakashi-sensei would be called jii-san?"

"BAKA!!" Tsunade punched Naruto to the other side of the room. "I'M NOT EVEN THAT OLD YET!!"

Shizune and Kakashi could only sweat drop.

'_Damn you teme…why does bad thing have to happen to me when it's about you and Sakura-chan?"_

* * *

As Sasuke walked the busy streets, he suddenly sneezed.

"Damn dobe must be talking bad about me." He muttered quietly to himself as he continued to his destination.

* * *

**That's the end of this chapter. I know the late part of this chapter seems very random, but I was so tempted to put that in. LOL.**

**Gomen for the late update. Because of school and the classes I have, I constantly have homework. Being a senior in high school is troublesome…. Anyways, I plan to update at least once to twice a month to try to finish this fanfic by the end of this year. Also I'm taking time to edit past chapters to make it better.**

**That's it for now, until the next chapter! Please review! Virtual sweets for all!**


	19. Chap 19: Danger For Being With Me

**Konichiwa minna-san. Thank you to all of those that have reviewed. The reviews have gone over 300! YAY! Virtual sweets for all! Sorry for any mistakes that are in this chapter.**

**Some may have took noticed that the first few chapters have been edited with some added stuff and edited parts. No need to worry, it won't change the story at all; I'm just making some corrections and trying to make things flow nicely. I'm going to do the same for the other chapters as well, so feel free to inform me of anything you think could use some change. I'm opened up for ideas.**

**Sorry that the last chapter was kind of short, I didn't really know what to put in that chapter because it was so focused on the letter from Sakura and Sasuke. I know the ending for the last chapter was totally random, but I was tempted to put it in to make it funny. Anyways, here's the next chapter and Sasuke is back to being the dark bad boy you know and love! I've made this chapter extra long because of my tardiness. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this fanfic.**

* * *

Chapter 19: Danger For Being With Me

Sasuke walked down the busy streets to get to his destination, a bar. Yes he was underage, but that wouldn't stop him from going in. He wasn't going there for a drink of sake, even though he had drunk it before, he was going there to get information.

Most shinobis usually went to bars to gather information because it was the best place and the information was certain. However, this one bar Sasuke was going to was different. It isn't the kind of bar one would typically go to have drinks with his friends or go party at late at night. This one bar was more like a hangout place for criminals.

The bar's guests were all dangerous and vicious. Its usual customers were all high ranked criminals or rogue ninjas that were exiled from their villages, constantly on the run. This bar was considered more as a base for the most dangerous criminals. In order to survive this place, you would have to be able to stand a chance against most on your own, or never see the light of day again. Unfortunately the major villages didn't know much about this town and had no knowledge that it was the best place to capture criminals.

He had only been there a few times, but the name Uchiha Sasuke had reached every pair of ears in that bar. He was an infamous person and at the top of their list. Everyone wanted to try to beat and kill the great Uchiha Sasuke. The sole survivor of the Uchiha massacre, a wielder of the Sharingan, a ninja of Konoha, had the infamous copy-ninja Kakashi as his sensei, classified as an S-ranked criminal, trained under one of the three legendary sennins, and had now been called one of the second generation of sennins.

Who wouldn't want the title of defeating Uchiha Sasuke? Oh, the glory they would earn for beating someone so strong. But all knew it was better not to get in his way, unless they had a serious death wish that couldn't be met.

The sun shined brightly along the semi busy streets. Usually the streets of a town or village would be crowded with people, going from place to place, but this town was different. It was more of a place people would stop at for the night and hurry away the moment the sun raised before getting into trouble that would possibly left them dead.

The hood shadowed Sasuke's face from all eyes, as people tried to get a good look of him as he passed by. He entered a dark alley way with a kunai in his hand hidden from all eyes. He journeyed deeper in and was able to sense the presence of many high chakra levels. And to his liking, the ones that he was looking for were there.

He was supposed to meet a group of ninjas that had gathered information for him about Akatsuki and Itachi. He found out they had done some business with one of their deceased members, but wasn't sure which one. All that mattered to Sasuke was that they were able to find information about Akatsuki.

He had met them a few months back when they were trying to attack him, but failed miserably at it. Wanting their lives spared, they agreed to help him with anything he wanted them to do. Unable to find the information he seek about his brother on his own, he had the ninjas do the work for him.

As he entered the room, the strong smell of alcohol and smoke reached his nose. The smell of smoke was to his disliking and was starting to give him a headache. The place was quiet, except for the voices of drunks yelling out for more alcohol and beating happening amongst the intoxicated ninjas.

Sasuke didn't bother taking off his hood as he headed toward the far corner to a small group of semi drunk ninjas. He avoided knocking into anyone that was in his way to prevent getting into unnecessary fights.

When he reached the table, the three men there were pouring sake into their empty cups. Their bodies were slouched and they didn't seem to be aware of their surroundings

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Uchiha Sasuke," the ninja closest to his right said before a hiccup escaped his throat. "Care to have a drink with us." He held up his small cup of sake to the Uchiha.

Sasuke didn't dare touch the sake, for there was a high possibility that it was spiked. You would think it was spiked with some sort of sleeping powder, but usually at a place like this, who knows what's in the drink.

"You're boss isn't here," he said nonchalantly.

"No worries, we got what you want to hear."

"Then talk."

"Oh come on now Sasuke," the ninja in the middle said. "You have to enjoy yourself once in a while."

"Yeah," the one on his left said. "We won't do anything to you."

He stood up and tried to give Sasuke a little push to get him to sit. Before he could put his hand on Sasuke, he was pinned to the wall by his neck. Sasuke's left hand clenched his victim's neck tightly.

"Tell me what I need to know now!" Sasuke said with venom. His sharingan activated and was spinning slowly. "Or I'll rip you limp from limp until I hear what I came here for."

"I'll tell you, just put me down," the man rasped out, back to his senses, begging.

Sasuke didn't release his hold on his victim as he turned to face other two in their seats. They knew what would happen if they didn't tell him right away.

"Two weeks from now he will be in a town not too far from the northern borders of the land of fire, close to the borders of the Waterfall Village." The one in the middle spoke without pausing to take a breath until he was done.

"Alone?" Sasuke asked narrowing his eyes at the two.

"Iie, his partner Hoshigake Kisame will be there with him too!"

Sasuke released his hold on the man he had pinned to the wall by the neck and flung him on to the table. "You're still not telling me everything you know."

The one on the table massaged his sore neck, trying to catch his breath. The other two were trembling with fear.

"There's a rumor going around… that someone is trying to annihilate Akatsuki… from the inside," one on his right said, stuttering. He was staring straight into the crimson eyes surrounded by darkness. "Our sources… told us that… Uchiha Itachi is the one."

'_What the hell! Itachi wants to destroy Akatsuki?'_ Sasuke thought to himself _'It doesn't make any sense.'_

'_**There might be a reasonable answer, yet this is a rumor,'**_ Sasuke's inner said. _**'There's a possibility that it wrong.'**_

"Why?"

"We don't know," the one in the middle said. "All we found out is that Itachi is the master mind behind that plan and his partner Kisame is in on it too."

Itachi was planning to destroy the organization he was in, but it still didn't make any sense why. There had to be a good reason for Itachi to be doing this. Could it be that Itachi wanted to leave Akatsuki and couldn't? It was a possibility.

"Is there anything else I need to know?" Sasuke asked as he narrowed his eyes at the three in front of him.

Since he left the inn, he had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He knew Sakura can defend herself, but it was dangerous for her to be alone, especially in a town like this.

All three of them shook their head no.

"I have some business with your boss," Sasuke said. "Do you know where he is?"

The one on the table smirked slyly. "The boss said he was going to enjoy himself with a woman." He moved off the table and stood up to face Sasuke. "You know what I mean?"

Why wouldn't Sasuke understand, he was a man of course! Sasuke couldn't believe he hired a bunch of idiots to find information on Akatsuki and his brother.

"He told us he saw this beautiful girl yesterday." Sasuke didn't need to know the details. All he wanted to know was where he could find the guy so he wouldn't have to witness anything. "He mentioned to us that the girl had a great body and unusual pink hair."

Sasuke snapped. There was only one person he knew of that had pink hair and that was _his_ Sakura.

The kunai in his right hand flew out and was imbedded deep into the throat of the man. The body fell to the ground lifelessly as blood streamed out of the wound.

"When did he leave?" Sasuke spat out with venom.

"Not too long after you arrived," the one on his right answered.

In a blink of an eye, the other two were dead and Sasuke rushed out of the bar toward the inn. What he failed to notice as he left, several ninjas were following him in the shadows.

* * *

Back in Konoha, Tsunade was busy trying to think up a way to lighten the Uchihas' punishment when they returned. Shizune was looking through a stack of papers to find what the Godaime requested, a list of possible punishment for S-ranked criminals. Kakashi stood leaning against the wall near the window reading his favorite perverted book. Naruto was sitting in a chair in front of the huge desk, rubbing the bump he had on his head.

"I can't find the scroll Tsunade-sama," Shizune said as she continued to rummage through papers and different scrolls.

"Teme and Sakura-chan have taken care of several threats to Konoha. Wouldn't that be enough to pardon them from any kind of punishment?" Naruto asked.

"Unfortunately Naruto, the elders won't be lenient with them," Tsunade said as she rubbed her temples. "Annihilating massive threats to Konoha may only be enough to pardon them from execution, but you know how the elders work. They'll think up all sorts of excuses to punish Sasuke and Sakura."

Naruto groaned in annoyance. It was bad enough having the village possibly hating them for the rest of their lives, but the elders were a bigger pain in the ass.

"The elders will just ignore the good they've for the village and trial them as criminals," Kakashi said from behind his book. "Even with us standing to defend them, the elders will still see them as criminals not as shinobis of the leaf."

"Can't we just kick them out and appoint new elders?" Naruto yelled. "I don't want teme and Sakura-chan to be locked away just because everyone thinks that they're criminals."

Tsunade sighed. "If only things were really that easy Naruto, I would have done so long ago." She looked up at Naruto. "We just have to think up a plan that will really help them."

"Why do we have the hard job?" the blond said as he scratched the back of his head.

Naruto leaned back in his chair, trying to think up a way to help Sasuke and Sakura when they returned. He didn't want them executed or stripped of their ninja duties. He wanted to become team seven once again with them and go on missions together.

As he thought of his two teammates, the letter he was given came to mind. He took out the paper from his pouch and opened it up.

_Dobe,_

'_Damn teme, can't call me by my real name at least once!'_ Naruto thought.

_From what I know about Akatsuki, you better watch yourself. There should be six members left in the origination. I was able to kill the one named Deidara before you found me out in the fields a few days ago. My advice to you is to have Kakashi with you at all times. I had a bad feeling about the member that goes by the name of Tobi when I first encountered him. I know nothing of his abilities, but I think Kakashi should deal with him. If I get any valuable information about Akatsuki, I'll try to have a message sent to you, Kakashi, or Hokage-sama._

'_Teme is doing more than necessary,'_ Naruto thought to himself.

_You remember the goals I set out to accomplish, right? Itachi isn't going to be an easy opponent to beat no matter how strong I've gotten over the years. Unfortunately for Sakura and me, Itachi may not and won't be the only Akatsuki members we encounter. I do intend to return to Konoha alive with Sakura._

_The one thing that will cause a bigger problem are the elders. You know as well as I do that the elders are going to trail Sakura and me as S-ranked criminals despite our past in Konoha and relations. We know that execution is the most likely punishment we will face and neither Sakura nor I regret what we've done. Knowing you, you would try to find a way around it for us, but the odds are still against us._

_Just watch out for yourself and that perverted Kakashi-sensei of ours._

_Sasuke_

Naruto stared at the letter. They knew what they were in for, but didn't care. He was more determined to find a way to help them. Naruto wasn't going to let their hard efforts for helping Konoha go to waste.

Naruto placed the letter back into his pouch and stood from his seat. He headed toward the open window and jumped out.

"Where do you think he's going?" Shizune asked worryingly.

"Most likely to Ichiraku's for ramen," Kakashi said as he turned the page of his book.

—xXx—

Naruto stood in front of the locked gates of an area that has been left untouched for years. No one ever wanted to step foot here because of its history, but could only care less. He placed his hands together below his chin and bowed slightly, showing his respects to the souls that once lived there. He then took out a kunai and picked the lock until it opened. He slowly swung the gates open, revealing the ghostly place.

"I am not a threat and wish you no harm," Naruto said to no one in particular. "I'm just here to help Sasuke-teme and Sakura-chan."

A light gust of wind blew by as if giving him a little push to enter. It must have been their way of saying that he was welcomed to enter. A smile made its way across Naruto's face as he stepped in to the deserted area.

He looked at the place. Nothing had been touched since that day. There were broken windows, blood stains, a few kunais and shurikens lying on the ground, and the markings of where bodies once laid. One thing that really stood out was the small crack on the wall in the middle of the red and white fan. Sasuke had left everything the way it was, as if trying to erase what had happened here from his memories, but Naruto knew it will always haunt him.

This was where Sasuke's life changed him forever and turned him into who he was.

It was the place Sasuke had once called home when he was young and will be his home again when he returned. No, it wouldn't be just Sasuke's home anymore, but Sakura's as well.

"There's a lot that needs to be done," Naruto said as he closed the gates behind him. "Well I better get to work."

He took off his black and orange jacket and placed it neatly on the ground with his headband on top. He then made the hand sign to use his number one technique.

* * *

Sakura was up and in the showers not long after Sasuke had left. She had a hard time falling back asleep and decided that it was time she got up. Yuki had spent the time sleeping comfortably on the bed.

Sakura came out of the steaming bathroom with a towel around her waist and a smaller towel draped over her damp hair. In her arms were the filthy clothing she and Sasuke had been wearing for a quiet a few days, stained with dirt and blood. She set the clothing in a neat pile by their packs then turned to rummage through her own bag for clean clothing. Unfortunately, all she was able to find in her bag were clean pairs of underwear, shorts, and black tag tops.

'_I don't have any clean bras!'_ Sakura yelled frustrated.

'_**I doubt Sasuke-kun would mind,' **_inner Sakura said snickering.

'_He might not, but I do!'_

Sakura changed into her underwear and shorts then walked over the closet to look for bandages. When she found what she was looking for, Sakura went over to sit on the bed. She began to bind her chest with the bandages as Yuki awoke.

"You're awake now Yuki," Sakura said as she secure the bandage.

"How did you know Sakura-sama?" The snake asked as it slithered to rest behind the kunoichi.

"Your chakra," she answered smiling at the reptile. "I specialize in sensing and manipulating chakra."

"Sakura-sama is very talented."

"Not really, compared to Sasuke-kun."

Sakura turned to look at the door, her eyes narrowing slightly. She felt a strong and dangerous chakra approaching and it made her feel uneasy.

"What is it Sakura-sama?" Yuki asked after noticing the kunoichi's action.

Sakura stood from the bed and went to the closet to get one of Sasuke's haori shirts to put on. She pulled out a white one and fastened it around her waist so that the chest binding didn't show and the shirt looked her sized.

"There's a sinister chakra approaching us," Sakura said as she pulled out a kunai.

Sakura stood at the side of the door where she won't be seen and made a clone of herself. As if on cue, there was a knock on the other side of the door. Yuki slithered off the bed and to the opening end of the door.

Instead of her opening the door, Sakura had her clone do the work so that if it was an enemy, she would have the advantage.

There stood a man not much taller than her with a tray of food in one hand and a bag in the other hand. The close he wore seemed too small for him and his facial expression showed a lot of confidence. He seemed to be wearing the worker's uniform, but Sakura had a feeling it was a genjutsu to fool her.

"Can I help you?" The Sakura clone said.

"I was told to deliver these to you by Uchiha-san," the man said in a deep voice.

The man first handed the bag to the clone and she took it, placing it behind her as the real Sakura moved it out of the way. The tray of food on the other hand was pretty big and if she wanted to carry it in with one hand, chakra would be needed. He handed the tray over to the clone, but he had it farther away from her so that the door would have to be open wider in order to get the food.

Sakura knew he was planning something. Most people would be timid and stuttering because they were doing something for Sasuke, but this one was different. He was very confident. It was a good think she was prepared.

The clone opened the door a bit wider and took the tray in one hand. As she was stepping back in to the room, she used her foot to close the door. It was almost closed when the man's hand shot out and pushed the door open a bit.

"Is there something you need?" the clone asked as Yuki hissed loudly at the stranger.

"Actually, there is."

He tried to push the door to open more, but it wouldn't budge. The clone used its left foot and hand to hold the door in place as the man tried to get it.

"I wouldn't move if I were you," the real Sakura said as she stepped out and took the tray of food from her clone. "Unless you prefer to die this way, I don't mind."

The genjutsu used to disguise himself wore off. The closes changed into a dirty set of gray and black ninja uniform. He struggled more to get free, but it was no use. The clone pushed the door a bit more and the man cried out in pain.

Sakura sat on the bed facing the door, setting the tray of food next to her. Yuki slithered away from the door and up on the bed.

"What is your business here?" Sakura asked as she let the plate of raw meat next to the snake. The man didn't speak and kept trying to get free. Not getting an answer, the clone pushed the door a bit more, earning another cry of pain. "I would like an answer from you now."

The man wasn't talking and it irritated her. Knowing that it was a matter of time before he would snap, Sakura decided that she would wait.

Yuki and Sakura took their time eating their food as the clone tortured the man slowly and painfully by putting more pressure.

"I'll talk, just stop!" The man yelled out in pain. "Let me free."

'_**Yeah right, and let you get away!' **_inner Sakura said, pointing an accusing finger at the man.

The clone relieved some of the pressure, but still kept him caught.

"Talk," Sakura ordered.

"I'm here for Uchiha Sasuke. That is all," the man said.

"As you can see, Sasuke-kun isn't here. And if you wish to still have your body intact," Sakura said slyly. "Leave now."

The clone forcefully pushed the man out the door before slamming it shut and locking it. After doing so, the clone vanished in a puff of smoke.

"What would that shinobi want with Sasuke-sama?"

"I don't know, but whatever it-"

Sakura was cut off when the door burst open and there stood the man of earlier. Without hesitation, she took the kunai near her and flung it at the enemy as he rushed toward her. He dodged the kunai and was about to lunge at her when a flash of black appeared.

Sasuke forcefully kicked the man into the wall as a chakra blade from his left shot out and pierced his body, inches away from his heart. The man began to cough little bits of blood, but he was still alive and well.

"Pack everything and be ready to leave Sakura," Sasuke said without turning his head to face the kunoichi.

"But-"

"Now Sakura!" Sasuke ordered, cutting her off from finishing her words.

Sakura was startle by Sasuke's sudden change in attitude. Not wanting to provoke him, she did as she was told and packed their supplies.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke questioned the man with venom dripping from every word.

The man didn't answer and Sasuke sent a surge of lightning down across the chakra blade. The ninja yelled in agony at the sheering pain.

"Talk!"

"I came here looking for you," The man said. Sasuke knew that it was a lie and sent another surge of lightning down the chakra blade. Another cry of pain escaped the man's mouth before he spoke again. "I came here for the kunoichi!" Sakura had finished packing and turned to see what was happening. "I thought by getting her, we would have a better chance in killing you."

Suddenly the wall in front of Sakura exploded. She jumped back quickly to avoid being caught by whomever or whatever was after them. She grabbed their backpacks with her and pulled out a kunai, getting into a fighting stance.

Things were getting worse than he had expected. It seemed like the criminal he would encountered at the bar were coming to kill him and Sakura. This was very odd. No one would ever try to attack him when he was in town, unless they didn't know who he was.

Sasuke didn't waste any time in killing the victim he had pinned to the wall with his chakra blade. A quick death by having the chakra blade divided up and shoot out of the body.

Things were getting dangerous now, worse than Sasuke had expected.

"Yuki, leave now," Sasuke said, without turning to face his pet.

Yuki understood the given orders and left in a puff of smoke.

As the cloud of dusk slowly began to clear, several kunai knives and shuriken stars came flying toward the couple. Sakura pulled the bed sheet off the bed and used it to lash the weapons. What she didn't notice was a huge ax was hurtling at her. Sasuke quickly rushed over to Sakura. His carried her over his left shoulder as he ran toward the balcony window.

Sasuke pulled out two kunais and forcefully threw them at the window, cracking it enough so that their body wouldn't take the full pressure of it. Sasuke pushed through, shattering the glass as he jumped off the balcony of the inn. They received several minor scratches as the small sharp shattered pieces of glass came in contact with their skin.

There were several ninjas that follow them out. Sakura make a few hand seals and she exhaled a cloud of purple poisonous smoke. The bodies fell to the ground, dead from breathing in the poison.

When they landed on a roof top far away from the inn, Sasuke set her down. He took his pack from her and swung it over his shoulder.

"What's going on Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked worryingly, hoping to get an answer out of him.

There was a pregnant silence until Sasuke spoke. "I'm heading to a place that once belonged to by clan."

That didn't answer her question. She knew something was wrong, but Sasuke didn't want to tell her. He pulled out a piece of paper and hurried to write some things with the ink he had with him. After he was done, he folded the letter and held it out to Sakura.

"Take this and go back to Konoha," that was all he said to her.

"I'm not leaving you Sasuke-kun," Sakura said, refusing to take the letter.

"I want you to go, Sakura."

"I'm not going to turn back now Sasuke-kun," Sakura yelled out. "I've gone so far with you already that I can't and won't leave you." Tears were beginning to form in her eyes. "I'm not going to let you suffer alone out there."

"You're in danger because of me. You always get hurt because of me," Sasuke said with a stoic face. "I'm not going to risk losing you."

Sakura couldn't take it anymore and slapped him over his face. Tears were beginning to slowly steam down her face as she stared into the onyx eyes of her lover. Sasuke was shocked. Sakura had actually slapped him over the face, but he deserved it.

"You'll risk losing me whether I'm by your side or not Sasuke-kun," Sakura said as tears rolled down her peach skin. "We've been through a lot together already. You said yourself that we'll get through things together and now I'm telling you the same thing. We'll get through everything together!"

She was right; they had gone through a lot together. He had gotten as far as he had because Sakura was with him. Without her, who knows where he would be. Uchiha Sasuke probably wouldn't be where he was at now. He wouldn't have the love of the pinked haired kunoichi or have the information that will lead him to his last chance to finally face his brother and revenge his clan.

Sasuke made a few hand seals and the paper turned into a bird. It took off into the sky, in the direction of Konoha.

He then walked up to the silent tearing kunoichi and grabbed her arm, but not forcefully. He gave her a small tug, indicating her to follow him. She wiped her tears swiftly and followed where Sasuke was taking her.

"I saw them over there!" a voice said.

Sasuke pulled Sakura into his arms and jumped down from the roof top, into a small cramped ally way. Their bodies were pressed close together within the shadows of the ally. Sakura didn't dare look up at Sasuke, somewhat afraid of how he would act toward her. He knew she was avoiding eye contact with him and he would have to set thing right when they arrived at their next destination.

Several ninjas passed by the ally entrance, but didn't look in to check if they were hiding there. Sasuke felt a strong chakra approaching them and had a bad feeling of what was to come.

"Mask your chakra," Sasuke ordered.

She did as she was told as he pulled his hood up and pulled out another black cloak from his pack. He secured it on Sakura and pulled the hood up for her.

Sakura couldn't help but look up into his face. He held a stoic expression, but his eyes showed his true feelings for her. That was all she needed to see to save her heart from turning black. She turned her head away from his gaze, regretting what she did earlier to him. But it wasn't entirely her fault, Sasuke had provoked her to slap him and he deserved every last bit of it.

Sasuke left hand held on to her right as he led her out of the ally and into the streets. With no one of threat in sight, he began to run toward the gates of the town, his hand still grasping on to Sakura's.

"There they are!"

They were spotted. They needed to get away fast before they ended up using all their energy and chakra fighting off the criminals after them.

Sasuke released Sakura's hand and took his left hand out of the clovers of the cloak. He turned the arm guard over, revealing the tattoo for the snake summoning. He bit his right thumb and smeared a bit of blood on the tattoo. He hurried through the hand signs then stopped and pushed his palm onto the ground.

"Kyuichose No Jutsu!"

A large puff some smoke formed as a large brown snake rose up with Sasuke and Sakura standing on top of its head.

"What can I do for you boss?" the snake asked.

"Get us out of this town and into the woods," Sasuke ordered.

"I understand," the snake said as it began to move through the streets.

It sped through the streets without much trouble. People on the streets ran into their houses or the nearest shop to avoid becoming a snack to the overly large reptile. Sasuke and Sakura noticed several figures running along the other sides of the streets, trying to catch up or cut off the snake from getting out of the town.

"The bounties on your heads will be mine!" the voice said, coming from above.

'_**Bounties! You and Sasuke-kun have bounties on your heads?!'**_ inner Sakura yelled out.

Sakura looked up and saw a huge ninja coming. She built up some chakra in her right hand and punched him in the stomach. She noticed a few parchments sticking out of his pouch and grabbed it before kicking the ninja off the snake and into a building.

More ninjas were beginning jump off from the roof tops to get on top of the reptile's head. Sasuke and Sakura did their best to keep them off, without using too much of their chakra.

When the forest came into view Sasuke activated his Sharingan and cast a genjutsu. All the ninjas suddenly caught in a daze. Sakura was bewildered by Sasuke's strategy when he jumped off the snake.

"I'll catch up."

That was all he said to her as he brought his hands out of the cloak's covers. She noticed the quick hand signs he made after he brought his hand up close to his mouth.

"Kation Housenka no Jutsu!"

Multiple fire balls were blown out from his mouth, starting a fire. Sakura wasn't able to see what happening as she traveled into the forest on the snake's head.

* * *

**That's the end of this chapter. So long to type up, but it was worth the time. I'm going to try to make the coming chapters longer as well. Due to school, I might not be able to update as much as I want to. As I've said before, I'm taking time to edit the past chapters to make some minor changes and add some stuff.**

**If anyone I confused about anything that happened in this chapter, don't hesitate to ask. Yes, Sasuke was very cold toward Sakura most of the in this chapter and she slapped his. I still haven't thought up a name for the snake that was summoned in this chapter. If you have a name in mind that I can probably use, please tell me! The scene back in Konoha really revolves around what Naruto, Tsunade, Shizune, and Kakashi are planning to do to help Sasuke and Sakura when they return.**

**Well that's it for now, until the next chapter, which will take a while…. Please review! Virtual sweets for all!**


	20. Chap 20: No Longer A Haruno

**Konichiwa minna-san! Thank you to all of those that have reviewed! The reviews have gone over 350!! Yay! (tackle hugs all the readers and reviewers) Virtual sweets for all! The last chapter received many reviews. Some reviewers figured out that Naruto was planning to do to the Uchiha compound. LOL. I know it's very odd, but I didn't want the place to stay all gloomy like.**

**I spend a lot of time getting this chapter together and really hope all the readers like it. Sorry for any mistakes that are in this chapter. Sasuke is slightly OOC in this chapter and I'm very sorry about that. Here is another long chapter like I promised and lemons that a few had requested.**

**WARNING: There are LEMONS in this chapter!! If you hate LEMONS, skip it. Don't say I didn't warn you because YOU'VE BEEN WARN!!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this fanfic.**

* * *

Chapter 20: No Longer A Haruno

The bright rays of the sun shined down upon the ground. Not too far from the town Sasuke and Sakura just escaped from smoke was rising up into the clear blue sky.

As the reptile passed through the trees in the forest, animals ran out of their hiding to avoid being eaten. The snake stopped when it reached a clearing deep in the forest. Sakura was in a trance, staring off into the distance where Sasuke was.

"Miss you don't have to worry about Sasuke-sama," the snake said as it lowered its head to the ground.

Sakura snapped out of her daze and stepped off the head of the reptile and on to the dirt ground. She turned around to look at the animal as its own golden right eye stared back at her. The pinked haired kunoichi broke the gaze and examined the animal's condition.

Several kunais and shurikens had punctured the skin and cause blood to flow out. Because the reptile had been moving, some of the wounds opened bigger.

"I'm going to heal your wounds," Sakura said as she began to make hand signs. "It may sting a bit."

It nodded its head slightly and relaxed all its muscles. Sakura placed her glowing hands upon the wounds to heal them. There were a few times the reptile hissed at the pain, but never cause any trouble for the medic as she did her job.

When Sakura was done, she ceased sending the chakra to her hand and whipped the sweat off her forehead with the sleeve of the haori.

"You've healed Tomo, Sakura," Sasuke said as he appeared in a whirlwind of leaves.

Sakura turned her gaze toward the owner of the voice and noticed the raven haired shinobi carrying what looked like a dead deer over his shoulder.

"Sakura-sama has been very kind to heal me," Tomo said as he raised his head off the ground a bit.

Sasuke dropped the dead animal in front of his summoning. Tomo devoured his meal quickly with satisfaction.

"Is there anything else you need me to do Sasuke-sama?"

"No, you may leave now."

The snake nodded slightly then turned its gaze toward Sakura. "Arigatou for healing me Sakura-sama."

Sakura smiled at the animal and petted it at the tip of its head. "No problem, Tomo. You be good now."

Tomo left in a puff of white smoke, leaving the two sannins in utter silence. The only things that could be heard were the sounds coming from the surrounding nature.

Sakura didn't know what to do. Her body was slightly trembling with fright and she felt like her stomach was home to dozens of butterflies. She had slapped him earlier for trying to push her away, but she knew he was doing it for her own good. She couldn't look him in the eye after what she had done. Sasuke on the other hand couldn't keep his eyes off her. Sakura meant everything to him, she was the only person that could fill the hole in his heart, bring him happiness, and was the only person capable of saving him from turning into what he loathed most. But most importantly, Haruno Sakura was the only person he, the cold hearted Uchiha Sasuke, could ever love back.

'_**You're very lucky that Sakura loves you as much as she does,"**_ Sasuke's inner self said. _**'You were an ass to her and she's still here with you!'**_

Sasuke's inner was right; Sakura had stood by him up until now. She wasn't going to leave him and Sasuke knew he would have felt the same way if he were in her place. He was planning to set things right between her when they reached their final stop, but seeing the way Sakura was acting toward him was making him feel guilty.

Sasuke walked up to her with the stoic expression still on his face. When he was right in front of her, Sakura still didn't dare look up into his onyx eyes. His right hand reached up and cupped her left cheek, his thumb smoothly caressing her skin. She couldn't help but lean into his touch, her left hand reaching up and placed on top on his right. She couldn't take it anymore; the tension built up between them would never last very long.

Sakura wrapped her arms around his torso, tears slowly trickling down her skin. He couldn't and wouldn't push her away after what he had done. Sasuke placed his arms around her waist and shoulders, his left cheek resting against her left temple.

"Gomen Sasuke-kun," Sakura muffled against his body as tears continued to stream out. "Gomen."

He felt her tears against his bare chest. Sasuke wish he could stop himself from making her cry, but he knew it would be like forcing himself to stop loving her and that would be utterly impossible.

"It's not your fault Sakura," he said. It was Sasuke's way of apologizing without saying so. He held on to her tightly before freeing her and pushing her back slightly to look into her emerald eyes. "Where we're going isn't very far. We'll reach there by night fall."

Sakura nodded slightly and withdrew her arms. He leaned down and gave her a passionate kiss on the lips before placing the hood over her head. Sasuke held her hand as they jumped off, heading toward their next destination.

—xXx—

The sun was beginning to set when Sasuke and Sakura arrived at a small abandoned town. She walked at his side, hand still tangled with his. They entered one of the rundown buildings and ventured in until they reached a dead end with a large statue of a cat.

"It's a dead end," Sakura said as she looked up at her lover.

Sasuke started blankly at the statue and noticed that the cat's right paw was slightly slanted. He stepped forth and pushed the paw back to it proper position. The statue began to move to the side, revealing a well lit underground tunnel.

—xXx—

Sasuke and Sakura walked in the lit hallways in silence. Each turn they made caused Sakura to worry; the tunnels look identical that she feared they were lost.

"Is this one of Orochimaru's hideout Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked as they continued walking. "The tunnels look the same and I have a feeling we're lost."

"No," Sasuke answered as he shifted his eyes to look at the kunoichi then back to watch where he was going. "My clan used this place as a storehouse. We're going to get ourselves equipped here before we head out."

"This place seems more livable than the Sound base were at before," Sakura said.

"Why thank you for your compliment miss," a voice said from behind.

Sakura turned around to see who had just said that.

"Denka, Hina," Sasuke said as he faced their greeters and taking his hood off. "How have you two been?"

There were two small kittens, both wearing some clothing similar to a ninja's. Denka had white and black fur. His tail, ears, and paws were black and he had some black fur at the side of his face. Upon his forehead, there was the symbol meaning demon. Hina was a white cat with a few black markings on her face.

"Well if it isn't Sasuke!" Denka said. "It's been a while."

Hina meowed. "What brings you here?"

"We're just here to get some supplies." Sasuke answered. "We need to prepare for a big battle."

Sakura was a bit surprised. "They're talking cats," Sakura whispered to herself.

He lightly squeezed her hand, assuring her that there was nothing wrong. "They're ninja cats," Sasuke said to Sakura. "There's nothing to worry about."

"Come on," Denka said as he started to walk toward the opposite direction. "We'll bring you to the elder."

The two sannins followed the ninja cats through the tunnels as they lead them to the elder. Sasuke trailed after the two animals. Sakura on the other hand was getting even more confused of where they were going until they reached another door that led to a hallway with doors.

"We were lost in the tunnels earlier, weren't we Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked looked up at him as they continued to follow the cats.

"Hn."

"Come on now Sasuke," Denka said. "Admit it that you were lost. You would have spent days wondering the tunnels until you finally found the place."

"We weren't lost," Sasuke said monotone.

Sakura giggled lightly. "It's okay if you don't want to admit it," Sakura said, walking closer to him. "I'll still love you either way."

Sasuke heard the two cats snicker.

"Miss," Hina said as she turned her head around. "Sasuke never introduced you to us."

Sakura smiled. "My name is Haruno Sakura."

"You mean Uchiha Sakura."

"Eh?" both cats said in unison. They stopped and turned to face the two. "You're married to Sasuke!"

"I'm engaged to Sasuke-kun," Sakura corrected them. "So technically I'm not an Uchiha yet."

"But you will be," Sasuke said with a stoic expression on his face.

"The elder can perform the marriage ceremony!" Hina said.

"And you'll have us to witness it!" Denka said.

"We'll see," Sasuke said as he started to walk ahead, pulling Sakura behind him.

They reached a door at the end of the hall and entered. There at the far end of the room sat the elder cat. Well she didn't really look like a cat, more like a human. She was smoking a pipe slowly and looked up to see who had entered. Surrounding her around the mat she sat on were other smaller cats.

"It's been a while Sasuke," the elder cat said.

From behind the curtains, a girl about the same age as the sannin popped her head out to see if she heard right. Her blond hair reached down her waist with her bangs tucked behind her ears and her brown eyes were small. She wore a black sleeveless shirt and a pair of white long shorts that reached just below her knee. Her left elbow was bandaged and her exposed skin on her legs was covered with fishnet stockings.

"It's good to see you again Sasuke-san," the girl said before going back behind the curtains.

Sakura removed the hood of her head since they were safe. Sasuke released his hold on Sakura's hand and stepped forward. He kneed before the elder in respect.

"I've come to repay my debts to you, elder cat," Sasuke said.

"So you really do intend on finding Itachi?" the elder cat said after releasing a puff of smoke from her mouth. Sasuke didn't say anything. "I remember what you two were like as kids… the two of you were really close and now I can't believe it had come to this." The elder cat sighed. "To think that the Uchiha Clan would be reduced to but two people, and they would end up fighting to the death."

"I made up my mind a long time ago," Sasuke said as he pulled out a wad of bills out from his pouch and place it in front of the elder. "But I do thank you for everything you've done for me."

The elder inhaled the smoke from her pipe as she turned to look at Sakura. She examined her from head to toe and noticed the necklace around her neck. The elder had also taken note that Sasuke was holding Sakura's hand when they entered.

"You wear the necklace of the Uchiha Clan," the elder said to Sakura as she exhaled smoke from her mouth. "That would mean you're married to an Uchiha."

"Actually elder, Sakura is engaged to me," Sasuke said as he rose from his spot. "We want you to perform the ceremony."

The elder didn't understand why she was asked to perform the marriage ceremony for them until she remembered what Sasuke was planning to do. A fight to the death against Uchiha Itachi and he was determined to go no matter what.

"Onegai elder cat," Sakura said bowing her head. "Sasuke-kun and I would really appreciate it if you did."

The elder cat let out a sigh. It was the only thing she could do for the youngest living Uchiha before his faith was decided in battle. "I would be honored to."

"Domo arigatou gozaimasu," Sakura said bowing to the elder once again.

"This is possibly the last thing I'll ever be able to do for an Uchiha," the elder cat said to herself. "Hina, Denka!"

"Hai!" the two kittens said as they appeared in front of the elder.

"Bring them to one of the guest room and let them freshen up before coming back here."

"Hai!"

The two kittens led the two sannins out of the room and into the hallway.

'_**You're actually going to get married to Uchiha Sasuke!'**_ inner Sakura screamed out.

'_Yeah, but I always imagined Naruto, Kakashi-sensei, Shizune-san, and Tsunade-shishou watching.'_

'_**Everything changed so much. You know the big battle that's coming up could really change your life. You don't even know whether you and Sasuke-kun will come out alive.'**_

'_That's what scares me the most.'_

Determination had gotten her though many obstacles, but she knew that for this one battle, the odds were different. The saying that love conquers all didn't apply to her or Sasuke; no matter how strong their love for each other was, it would never help them win everything.

'_I never imaged this happening to me in my life.'_

'_**You promised the dobe that you and Sakura would return back to Konoha when this whole ordeal is finally settled. Maybe then you and Sakura can set up a better wedding so that the dobe and Kakashi can watch.'**_

'_Maybe, that is if the elders are willing to pardon Sakura and I from what we have done.'_

When they reached the guest room, Denka and Hina informed the two sannins that they would return in an half an hour to take them back to the elder. Sasuke closed the door quietly, locked it then turned to look at his fiancée.

"Are you nervous?" Sasuke asked as he walked over to her.

Sasuke took off his pack and set it to the side. His hand reached out to hers, requesting that he take her pack too. She did so and handed it to him.

Sakura shook her head and looked down at the ground. "I'm just worried about what's going to happen later," she answered. "I mean we don't have a lot of time together."

Sasuke right hand ran along her cheek then to the back of her neck. If only all those problems hadn't occurred or would just disappear, they could really have a life together and perhaps a family too. If Itachi hadn't killed the clan, Sasuke's mother, Mikoto, would have loved to have Sakura as a daughter-in-law and his father Fugaku, wouldn't disagree.

"Sakura…"

The said person looked up at the raven haired man only to have her lips claimed in a bruising yet passionate kiss. Sakura closed her eyes and leaned in toward his body. Tears slowly formed in the corner of her eyes and flowed down her smooth peach skin. Her hand ran up his bare chest then her arms wrapped around his neck. Sasuke's free arm went around her lower waist, pulling her body into his.

Their time together was limited because of what was to come. It pained her so much, but it was a choice they both made. She had always wanted to be the one girl that Sasuke would cherish and love, and now it finally come true. She was going to be the new Uchiha matriarch in a matter of minutes. He had always desired the love of someone that would see him for who he is and now that one woman was going to be his wife. Though he never showed it, Sasuke was happy.

Their lips parted for air as Sasuke's trailed along her jaw line. Her left hand was draped over his shoulder as her right hand clutch his raven hair. The man she had chased since she was a young girl was right there with her. Oh, how she wished for time to stop in order to let their moment together last forever.

His lips were against her right ear lobe as he whispered softly to her. "Do you regret being with me Sakura?"

She shut her eyes and a few more tears made their way down the corner of her eyes. "Iie, Sasuke-kun." Sakura said as she held on to him tighter. "You're the only one that can mend my broken heart and only person my heart will belong to." She withdrew back a bit and let her watery emerald eyes gazed into his onyx ones. "I don't regret my life with you and never will Sasuke-kun."

There was a knock on the door. Sasuke placed a light kiss on her semi swollen lips before releasing her to answer the door. When he opened it, there stood the girl from earlier with a large box in her arms.

"Grandma told me to bring these over," the girl said. "There're some things in here for the both of you."

Sasuke took the box from her. "Tell the elder we appreciate what she's doing."

The girl bowed before leaving. Sasuke closed the door behind him and settled the box down by the bed. He noticed the black cloak and white haori Sakura was wearing on the bed. Her ninja boots were set aside and the kunoichi was nowhere in sight.

The sound of running water was suddenly heard from the bathroom.

'_She must have gone in when I answered the door,' _he thought as he removed his sandals.

Sasuke removed the cloak and the black sleeveless haori and tossed it onto the bed before heading toward the bathroom. As he entered, Sakura stood between the running shower and the door, removing the chest bindings. Sasuke stripped off the remainder of his clothing then went over to help her with the bindings. She felt a hand over hers and turned her head slightly back. Sakura relax her arms and let Sasuke help her.

When the last of the bindings were off, Sakura turned around and held his hands. She led him toward the warm showering water. The water rained upon their bodies as if trying to waste away all the pain and guilt hidden deep within them.

Sasuke couldn't take his eyes off Sakura; she was the perfect person in his eyes. Her bright round emerald eyes held her innocents, her cherry colored lips screaming to be claimed, and her hair was the color the of blooming cherry blossoms. She wasn't an ordinary kunoichi or the twelve year old fan girl anymore; she was one of the three second generation sannins. Sakura was the only woman who loved him for who he was, unlike the fan girls that claim to love him, but only for his name, looks, and strength.

Sasuke leaned down and claimed her lips without a care of whether they ended up clean or not. Sakura belonged to him and him alone. He maybe possessive of her, but it was true. He wouldn't let anyone take her away, and if they did, he would get her back; he was an Uchiha, and Uchiha always got what they wanted.

They assumed that every inch of their body was cleaned; Sasuke turned off the shower and both went to dry themselves. They came out of the bathroom, Sakura with the towel around her figure and Sasuke with a towel around his waist.

He went over to the box and opened it to see what the hidden contents were. In there were several formal clothing with the Uchiha crest on the back. Sakura came over; in her arms were some of their clothing. She saw him take out the clothes and lay them neatly on the bed.

There was an elegant beautiful faint yellow kimono with the design of a garden and cherry blossom petal falling. The sky was stitched beautifully upon the kimono with cranes flying across. On the back was the reds and white fan of the Uchiha clan. The obi that went with it was a light pale green and blue with golden chrysanthemum flowers. Next there was a formal white and navy blue yukata. The strap that went with it was gray with a few white flowers designed on it. A black haori went with it and there were two small crests on the front, one on each side.

Those were the clothing the Uchihas wore when they were to be married. To think the cat elder had something like this stashed away and took it out when it was to be needed.

Sasuke knew she would look exquisite in that kimono. Sakura looked at her to soon to be husband's face and noticed he stared at the clothing with a stoic face. She looked hard into his deep onyx orbs and figured that the clothing were important.

As she placed the clothing in her arms down on the bed, she felt an arm around her waist. Sakura stood and leaned back into in bare chest, loving the feeling and warmth of his body against hers.

"I want you to wear that kimono," Sasuke said as he lowered his head to her neck and began kissing her skin. The way he said it wasn't a request or an order, but Sakura understood.

A small moan escaped her throat. She tilted her head slightly, giving him more access. "Is it a custom?" her sweet voice asked.

"Aa…" he answered between kisses.

She turned around and looked into his eyes; those onyx orbs of his have seen so much, but most of what was seen was painful. Getting on her toes, she placed a light kiss on the corner of his lips. She withdrew with a small smile on her own cherry lips and a light blush on her cheeks.

"We better get ready Sasuke-kun," she said stepping away from him to get dress.

He watched her for a few second before getting dress himself.

—xXx—

They we fully clothed in the wedding clothes the elder had given to them. Sakura had the necklace hanging out from the kimono; her face had a small amount of makeup applied on and her hair was pulled back with a few chopsticks in place. She was somewhat nervous of getting married so fast, but didn't show it. Sasuke on the other hand was very confident, but regretted that the ceremony had to be performed like this, without Naruto and Kakashi present to watch.

Sasuke and Sakura were in the previous room where they had met with the cat elder. It may not be the traditional Uchiha wedding, but this was the closest thing they had. They stood before the cat elder as she set up a two tablets on a table in front of the couple. On the tables were the names of Sasuke's parents, Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto. Though they were dead, the elder thought it was necessary to have tablets with their names on it to symbolize that they were watching, because they were going to have a daughter-in-law.

Sakura was asked whether she wanted tablets with her parents' name placed up too, but she declined. She loved and respected her parents very much, but they had always disagreed about her loving Sasuke. They saw him as a bad influence on their daughter, but they could never change Sakura's opinion of him. She chose to follow her own path in life and having to face tablets with her parents' name on them would make her feel uncomfortable.

"Are you two ready?" the elder asked as she extinguished the smoke in her pipe.

"Hai," Sakura answered as Sasuke nodded his head slightly.

"Kneel on the mats in front of you and we'll begin."

Both sannins did as they were told. The elder's granddaughter came out from behind curtains, dressed nicely with a small tray with a few cups of sake. She stood at the side, Denka and Hina sitting near to watch the ceremony.

"Ancestors of the Uchiha Clan," the elder began. "I call upon you to witness the binding of these two. Watch over them and protect from the all the harm that they will encounter. Let the marriage between Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura be prosperous in every way."

The elder's granddaughter stood behind the sannin and held out the tray of sake. Each took a cup and held it up, making a toast to ancestors of the Uchiha Clan before drinking the sake.

Sakura had only tasted sake once in her life, and it was when she was bringing some documents up to Tsunade's office. When setting the paperwork on the desk, she saw a small cup, filled with sake, just sitting there in the open. Curiosity got the best of her and she decided to take the drink. It didn't taste as bad as she thought it would and she promised herself she would enjoy it more when she was older.

The elder cat placed a cup of sake in front of the tablets of Sasuke's parents as the two sannins got another cup. Sasuke and Sakura held up their cup once again and made a toast to them before drinking it.

"You two can rise," the elder said to them. "Now face your spouse."

They did as they were told and faced one another. It was a bit difficult because of their height difference; Sasuke was almost a head taller than Sakura. There was a light blush on her cheek from drinking the alcohol, but she wasn't drunk in any way. Sasuke held his stoic face with no sign that he had drank any of the sake.

"Take the last cup and offer it to one another," the elder said.

There was two more cups of sake left on the tray the elder's granddaughter was holding and Sakura decided to go first. She took the cup of sake and held it up to him. Sasuke took the cup from her and drank the alcohol without any hesitation then placed the cup back on the tray. He next took the last filled cup and held it out for Sakura. A small smile was visible on her lips as she took the cup and swallowed its contents. She placed the empty put back on the tray and they both turned to face the elder.

"We set up an isolated room for the two of you to stay in," the elder said. "You'll have your privacy." The elder turned to Denka and Hina. "You two know where to bring them."

"Hai," the two kittens said in unison.

Before leaving the room, Sakura went up to the cat elder and thanked her for all that she had done for them. The elder could only smile as the two sannins left the room.

"I wish for your time together to be full of great memories," the elder said quietly.

—xXx—

Denka and Hina were lending the newly wedded couple down the hallway to the special prepared room. Her arm was latched on to his, head leaning against his arm with her eyes closed as he lean her. When they arrived, the two kittens left after congratulating them on their marriage then saying good night.

They entered the room when the kittens were out of sight. The room was lavishly beautiful; the elder was doing too much just for them. Their things that they had left in the guest room had been brought up and set neatly aside. There were three candles lit up at each corner of the room and the bed was covered with red rose petals; a very special romantic setting for them.

"It's late now Sasuke-kun," Sakura said as she unlatched her arm from his. "We really should change out of these clothes and get some sleep."

She was about to walk over to their packs to get some clothes for them to change into, but he grabbed her wrist, stopping her from going anywhere. He led her over to the bed without saying a word to her, his holding a stoic expression. Sakura didn't know what was wrong with Sasuke, but let him led her.

When they stood at the end of the bed, Sasuke grasped her shoulders and turned her around, undoing the obi at her waist. He removed the layers of the kimono off her and let it drop to the ground then pulled out the chopsticks that held her hair up before laying her down the bed. Sasuke looked at her; she was beyond beautiful, the bubble gum pink hair fanned around her head and her luscious body completely exposed to him. His eyes showing so many emotions, regret, lust, sorrow, but most of all, love.

She lay there, watching him as he eyed her entire body. There was something on his mind, bothering him to no end. His stoic face couldn't be read by anyone, but she could tell. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her. Sakura was taken and claimed by only one person and that person was Uchiha Sasuke.

Sakura sat up on her knees in front of her husband. She lifted her hand and slid the haori down his shoulder and undid the strap securing the yukata. His clothes slid off his body, exposing him to the woman in front of him. He let her hands run up his chiseled chest, up his neck until they cupped his face. Her thumb slowly and gently stroked his cheek.

Sasuke couldn't stand it anymore and claimed her lips in a demanding yet passionate kiss. He laid her on bed slowly their lips still connected to each other's. Sakura pulled his body in closer by wrapping her arms around his neck. Sasuke's left arm was supporting his weight from crushing the petite body of his wife and his right traveled over her body, drinking in her curves he now owned. His touch burned her body with desire.

His tongue licked her lower lips, asking for entrance and she granted it. She allowed him to ravage the hollow cavity of her mouth, tasting and licking every corner of it. Sasuke then allowed her to have her turn to ravage his own mouth, letting her have a taste of him. The feeling of her smooth warm tongue running along his mouth was driving him crazy now. He could feel his erection beginning to throb because of her touch. Their lips parted for air as Sasuke's trained her left jaw line. Moans left her as he nipped on her pale peach skin.

"Sasuke-kun…." Sakura breathed out, arching her back. "Onegai…don't…stop…."

He didn't intend to stop. They were both slightly under the influence of alcohol, but it didn't affect them very much. They wanted this so much that they weren't going to let anything interrupt them.

"Nothing else matter at this moment," he whispered into her ear. "It's only the two of us."

Sakura moaned again, nodding her head slightly understanding what he said. They were now married and their moments they had together would last forever in their hearts.

The raven haired man had her pinned below him as his lips brushed upon hers before kissing her hungrily. A loud moan escaped her when she felt the tip of his length graze her inner thighs. Sakura could fell herself getting wet and blushed. Those mesmerizing innocent emerald eyes, the sound of her moans, the taste of her lips, the luscious beauty of her body, and the love she had for him kept him sane. He felt his erection throb again from their physical contact. Sakura was like a drug to Sasuke; he could never get enough of her and would never let anyone else get close to her like he did. Sakura was being sent over the edge; his dark onyx eyes, the touch of his skin, the taste from his kiss, his strong voice, and the warmth of his body, nothing in the world could even compare to the pleasure he made her feel.

Sakura let out a moan before the kiss was broken. He laced his fingertips in hers as he nibbled at her right earlobe. Closing her eyes, she threw her head back from the pleasure, allowing him to take control. He kissed down her jaw line to her neck, licking it over and over until she began to squirm in annoyance. She felt Sasuke smirk against her skin while his lips grazed her skin. Moans began to leave her as he nipped on her skin above her breasts, leaving new love bits.

Those from the previous night were still slightly visible on her skin; pink and red marks upon her chest and neck, a few were dark purple. She would wake up the next morning and be covered with even more of his love bits. Her reaction would be priceless when she examined herself in the mirror.

Sasuke released her fingertip from his and traced her body. Sakura moaned from burning sensation he was sending her. He circled his tongue around the sphere of her left nipple then sucked on it hungrily while his hand massaged the neglected breast. Sakura's hands were tangled up in the raven hair of her lover, massaging his scalp, pressing him closer to her. He soon switched to give her other breast far treatment earning a few loud moans from her.

When done, he trail more kisses down her stomach, leaving more love bits along the way. He left a dark purple bit right under her navel before continuing down. His lips was about to reach her core, then he found himself pinned down by his pink haired wife. Sakura's legs straddled his waist her hands on his shoulder.

Sakura leaned down and began kissing him hungrily on the lips. He didn't protest as he kissed her back, one running hand up and down her smooth back and the along her thigh. Her chest brushed against his, causing her heart to beat uncontrollable and his member to harden even more.

She broke the kiss and kissed down his neck to his chest. She would bite and suck on his skin, leaving her own love bits on him. Unlike Sasuke's, the bits she left were light pink, only a few were red. Sakura heard a low moan coming from Sasuke as her tongue guided down his chest. The trails of hot saliva over his chest and her long slender fingers traveling over his body were making his erection throb.

She slid down his body until she was straddling his thighs. Sakura brought her slender fingers down his body and brushed them along his harden member, making him grunt from her sensational touch. She did it a few more times then wrapped his throbbing member with her fingers. Sasuke growled, knowing exactly what Sakura was going to do. Bliss began to flow through him as she began to pump him. Sasuke gripped the bed sheets underneath him; his eyes closed tightly, his breath coming out in pants, and small beads of sweat beginning to form upon his body.

"…Sakura…" he grunted out.

It went on for a minute until Sasuke decided that he didn't want to be dominated by his wife any longer. He grabbed her wrist, stopping her from going any further to make him climax before she did. He quickly repositioned them so that he was the one on top. Sakura had her arms pinned down beside her head and her legs spread apart by Sasuke's knees. Sakura looked up at him and saw a smirk across his lips.

He freed her arms letting his own hands explore her body. His head lean down toward her body, kissing and nipping her skin occasionally. Sasuke licked the valley between her breasts and earned a loud moan of the kunoichi. When his lips finally reached her womanhood, Sasuke could only smirk up at her. Sakura half lidded eyes couldn't make out the blur of his face when she looked down at him, but she had a feeling he was going to do something. Her thought were correct when she felt two fingers shoved into her core.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura moaned loudly, arching her back. He began to pulse them in and out, earning even louder moans from her. She gripped the bed sheets tightly and bit her lower lip to keep herself from screaming out in bliss. He spread her legs farther apart, shoving his fingers deeper into her core as he teased her.

"Onegai…Sasuke-kun…don't…stop…" Sakura panted out between moans, wanting her release.

Knowing that she wanted her release very soon, Sasuke withdrew his soaked fingers from her womanhood. As he did so, Sasuke heard a small whimper coming from her and he could only smirk. Sakura was panting heavily, small beads of sweat covered her skin, her face flushed red as she watched Sasuke through her half lidded eyes, lick her juice clean of his fingers.

Sasuke position himself at her opening as her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. He took his hard length, brushed it against her opening then plunged straight in. Her yelp from the sudden invasion was silenced by a harsh passionate kiss from her husband's lips. She moaned loudly, loving the intoxicated feeling she was experiencing. They soon broke the kiss, panting as their lungs demanding air. He pulled back out almost all the way and plunged back into her harder.

"…Sasuke-kun…" Sakura gasped out between moans.

Sasuke's thrust into her in a slow manner but quicken his pace as soon as Sakura's moans left her mouth. Sakura moaned loudly and arched her back, bliss running throughout her entire body. Encouraged, his thrust became harder and faster.

"You're…tight…Sakura…" Sasuke panted out as her walls tighten around his member.

Sakura's fingers dinged into his back, pulling him closer. Sasuke's right arm was wrapped around her waist while his left supported his weight above the petite frame below him. Sweat dripped down their bodies and onto the sheets. The room was filled with the sounds of Sakura's moans and Sasuke's groans.

"…Sakura…" he breathed out as he continued to thrust in and out of her.

He felt her walls tightening around his member. Sakura arched her back and screamed Sasuke's name out in sheer pleasure as her orgasm exploded. Sasuke gave two more hard thrust, causing her to come again as she screamed in ecstasy and triggering his own climax, letting his seeds spilled into her.

Sasuke fell on top on his wife from utter exhaustion, his member still sheathed within her. They were both panting heavily, trying to catch their breath from their heated activity. Sakura's right hand rested on his sweat covered back as her left slowly stroked his raven hair. What he made her felt was beyond words; she could never explain the feelings that ran through her.

Though exhausted still, Sasuke lifted his weight with his left and pulled out of from her. He lay at her side, pulling her petite frame close to his body. Sasuke took the large warm blanket and drape it over their exposed sweaty bodies. He took one last look at the blossom in front of him before closing his eyes and letting sleep over take him.

Sakura lay awake, watching her shinobi fall asleep. She brought her right hand up and brushed away loose strands of hair away from his face. He looked so peaceful when he slept. She leaned up slightly and placed a kiss on his lips then settled into his warm embrace to sleep.

* * *

**Yay, the chapter is over! My longest chapter yet and was totally worth the time to type up! It was originally a lot longer, but I cut out some things and they're going to be in the next chapter. The next chapter will be long as well because of my tardiness.**

**The wedding ceremony for Sasuke and Sakura was completely made up. If you didn't like it, well I'm sorry it's not to your liking. I took whatever background knowledge I could get on Japanese traditional wedding and mixed it with my knowledge of Chinese traditional wedding. I think I made Sasuke slightly OOC in this chapter, sorry about that. If anyone has questions about anything, don't hesitate to ask!**

**As I have said before, I'm taking the time to edit past chapter to make some minor changes and add some stuff. You don't have to read the past chapters over again if you don't want to. If you have any ideas or requests, I would be glad to hear them!**

**Well that's it for now, until the next chapter, which will take a while….Please review! Virtual sweets for all!**


	21. Chap 21: The Hunt

**Konichiwa minna-san! A huge thank you to all of those that have reviewed, it's so close to reaching 400! (tackle hugs all the reviewers!) I'm glad people like my fanfic! Virtual sweets for all! The previous chapter received a lot of reviews! Yay, Sasuke and Sakura are finally married! A lot of people are hoping Sakura gets pregnant now, LOL!**

**I spend a lot of time to get this chapter together. Sorry for many grammar and spelling mistakes. There are a lot of scene changes/jumps and I'm sorry if any readers get confused about what's going on. If there are any questions, don't hesitate to ask. I also added a special scene to this chapter, events that happened in the world of Tsukiyomi! Now on with the story! ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this fanfic.**

* * *

Chapter 21: The Hunt

It was late in the afternoon and the sun shined down on the village of Konoha. More rumors were being spread about team seven ever since the gang came back from their unsuccessful mission. Information from the mission somehow leaked out to the public without the knowledge of how. How theses rumor began in the first place was also a complete mystery.

"It's Kakashi's fault that he trained those two to become the killing machines that they are."

"Uchiha and Haruno completely destroyed Sound."

"Two ninjas at their level of power and strength would be able to destroy any village regardless of their force. Konoha could be their next target!"

"I heard the Kyuubi boy didn't stand a chance against Uchiha and Haruno."

"Kakashi couldn't bring down his own former students."

"The Godaime Hokage is planning to have them executed if they're caught."

"To think that the great name of the Uchiha Clan has been destroyed and now the only Haruno has also tainted her name."

It was heard everywhere and always about team seven. There was no way to prevent new rumors from coming about and no way to stop it from spreading. Tsunade had enough trouble with all the paperwork and now she was thinking up a way to help Sasuke and Sakura. She wants the rumors to stop spreading, but it would be impossible. If she told the villagers to shut up about the matter, it would look like she was defending them, two S-ranked criminals. She hated the job of Hokage sometimes and always questioned herself why she took the position.

In one of the local restaurants, the six remaining members of the rookie nine and team Gai were together discussing about their failed mission. More importantly, they were talking about Sakura and Sasuke. It bothered them a lot, especially Sakura betraying them.

"I can't believe that forehead girl choose to be a criminal!" Ino practically yelled out as she slammed her hands on the table. The contents on the table shook and or spilled a little. "She's a good girl and wouldn't do anything like that!"

Ever since they all got together to discuss what had happened, Ino couldn't stop ranting about what Sakura chose. It bothered her to no end while the others tried not to think too much about it. They weren't great friends, but Sakura was the kind of person that put others before herself. Ino was somewhat the opposite, but always kept an eye out for Sakura because of their rivalry.

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru said as he yawned. "You witnessed what happened with your own two eyes Ino, what more proof do you want? You also heard what she wrote in that letter to us."

What the Nara genius said was right; those that went on the mission had witnessed Sakura attacking them. She didn't just attack them; she had used the curse seal's power against them as well. They didn't notice any trace of regret on her face when she did so. And then there was the letter she had written to them, saying she would kill them if forced to.

"Have you ruled out the possibility that Sakura has been drugged by Uchiha?" Kiba said as he was cutting a piece of meat from the steak he was eating. "Or Sakura is blinded by her love for him and is just willing to do anything for him."

The three that didn't go on the mission and was apart of the backup team were informed of what had happened, even if they weren't suppose to know. It was hard for them to understand what went on, but they understood the bases of what had gone on. They couldn't image Sakura actually turning her back on her friends and village or her attacking them.

"The beautiful cherry blossom Sakura would never fall in love with Sasuke-san!" Lee shouted with a mouth full of food and stuck his fork up in the air. "She loves me, the beautiful green beast of Konoha."

"Shut up Lee," Tenten said, covering her ears from the shouts. "Sakura is a medic, so being drugged is ruled out."

"And forehead girl told me she had gotten over Sasuke-kun!" Ino yelled out, slamming her hands on the table once again. Those that were trying to eat were getting annoyed by her distraction. She then sat back down and brushed her blond hair behind her shoulder. "We all know that Sasuke-kun would choose me over any other women because I'm much prettier than forehead girl."

Even thought Ino never showed it, there was a part of her that held on to the dream of being with Sasuke. After encountering the S-rank criminal and ordered to heal him, Ion's feelings began to rise again and now she couldn't get the image of him out of her mind. Everyone knew Ino had a crush on Sasuke since their academy years, but never knew that she still liked him.

Ino practically yelled out in protest when she found out that Sakura was going to be on the same team as him. She would never give Sakura the opportunity to show her up; Ino always had to be the better of the two whenever she was compared to the cherry blossom. Now that Kiba had brought up the assumption the two S-ranked criminal could be in love was getting to her.

"Then explain why he was protecting Sakura?" Neji asked in a cool collective voice after taking a sip of tea. "Why did Uchiha protect Sakura the way he did and didn't ask you to go with him?"

Ino was left speechless without an answer to backup what she had said. Sasuke had protected Sakura like his life depended on it. He didn't let anyone hurt her and used his own body to shield her from any harm. The Hyuuga prodigy was right in what he said; damn him for being so smart.

"Sasuke-kun is just using forehead girl," Ino said as she violently stabbed her piece of chicken on her plate. "He wouldn't want a beauty like me to get hurt in battle! Anyways, Sasuke-kun can't get enough of me!"

"B-b-but w-when you were h-healing h-him during our m-mission," Hinata said stuttering, looking down at her fidgeting finger. "Uchiha-san h-had o-ordered you t-to stop."

"That's true," Neji said, pushing the empty plate away. "He didn't let Ino finish healing him and was bitter toward every one of us."

"Sasuke-kun told me to stop so that I wouldn't waste my chakra," Ino said before sticking food into her mouth. "See, he does care about me."

"I doubt it Ino," Kiba said before sticking the piece of meat into his mouth. "He ignored ever fan girl and most females that came near him, remember?" Kiba said with a mouth full of food before swallowing it down. "But since Sakura was on the same team as him, he could have directed all his attention toward her instead."

"We can't assume anything," Shino said as he pushed his glasses up. "The only ones that know Uchiha and Sakura-san well are those in team seven."

"Unfortunately Yamato and Sai became a part of team seven recently," Chouji said, munching on a large bag of potato chips. He had finished his dish and was still hungry. "Sai hanged out with Sakura a lot, but he doesn't know a thing about her and Kakashi-sensei is almost impossible to track down."

"Then that leaves us with Naruto," Shikamaru said sighing. "But it won't be easy."

"W-w-why is t-that Shikamaru-san?" Hinata asked stuttering.

"Remember how Naruto was acting yesterday when we asked him about Sasuke and Sakura?" Shikamaru said as he sat up straight to explain to everyone. "I have a feeling that he's keeping a secret from us and I have a hunch that it involves both Sasuke and Sakura."

"It's true that Naruto has been acting weird ever since Sakura was kidnapped by Sound," Tenten said. "Then when we encountered them, Naruto's personality changed even more."

"That's not the only thing that's been bothering me," Shikamaru said. "I was able to get some detail on what went on when Sasuke and Sakura assassinated Konishi Aki. They stormed through the building and from what I gathered, the place was heavy guarded."

"Usually in a heavy guarded place," Neji said calmly. "You would be spotted easily no matter how well you know the layout of the place."

Tenten nodded. "And with the color of Sakura's hair," Tenten said. "They would have been seen easily."

"Sasuke is an S-ranked criminal and so is Sakura," Shikamaru continued. "I found it odd that they completed their task as if it was a mission assigned to them by Hokage-sama."

"Their main target was the only one dead, right?" Shino asked. "And everyone else suffered from injuries of all types."

"Yeah," Shikamaru answered, nodding. "Naruto may know something that possibly involves the assassination."

"What are you trying to say Shikamaru?!" Kiba yelled irritated of waiting. "We're not geniuses like you here!"

Shikamaru waited until he had everyone's attention before he spoke.

"Whatever Naruto is hiding from us, it involves his two teammates," Shikamaru said seriously. "The only ones that probably know and are sure to be in on it are Hokage-sama herself and Kakashi-sensei."

"Are you implying that whatever Naruto is hiding, he must have told Tsunade-sama and Kakashi-sensei?" Neji asked. The Nara genius nodded. "This has just become a pain in the ass."

"It makes perfect sense if you think about it," Shikamaru went on. "Naruto's behavior was strange and hyper back at the Hokage's office. Then there's Kakashi-sensei being completely passive about it as if the mission wasn't a big deal."

"But he did warn us to get out of the office if we didn't want to get yelled at by Hokage-sama," Lee said with a huge mouth full of food.

"But I doubt Kakashi-sensei left though," Neji said.

"W-what a-are w-we g-g-going t-to d-do?" Hinata stuttered out.

"Asking Hokage-sama herself is out of the question," Shino said. "We could lose your position as shinobis by assuming that Hokage-sama is hiding something."

"But what Nara said makes sense," Neji argued in. "We could present this to the elders and have them decide what to do."

"But what if we're wrong, none of us are willing to risk losing our position as ninjas" Tenten said. "We could always go through the files and mission reports to see if we can find background information or anything that involves them. This way we have something to prove our theories."

"Yeah, and since Naruto is a loud mouth," Kiba said, swallowing his food. "Getting that knuckle head to talk should be easy!"

Shikamaru looked over at the male Hyuuga. "What do you think Neji?"

The Hyuuga prodigy nodded in agreement. "This is our only way to approach to find out what Naruto is hiding. I suggest we don't draw any attention to ourselves, especially from the Hokage and Kakashi-sensei."

"We should split into groups so we can cover more ground," Shikamaru insisted. "We'll meet back here at eight thirty to discuss what we were able found out. Neji, Lee, Chouji, Shino, Kiba, and Akamaru will go and search for Naruto."

"No worries," Kiba said. "We'll track Naruto down and make him talk!"

The five shinobis and Akamaru left the building in search of the blond knuckle head.

"I'll go to the library to see if I can get any background information or history about the Uchiha Clan," Tenten said, getting off her seat and heading toward the exit. "If I come across anything that has to do with Sakura's family too, I have it down."

"I'll a-accompany y-you Tenten-san," Hinata said getting up to catch up to Tenten.

After the two left, Ino turned to Shikamaru.

"What does that leave us with?"

"We're going to look into their permanent records to get information on them," Shikamaru answered, getting up from his seat.

"Then what are we waiting for?!" Ino yelled out once again. "I'm going to find out more about my Sasuke-kun while I'm at it too."

"Troublesome woman…"

"What did you just say?" Ino yelled back at the lazy genius.

"Nothing…"

Shikamaru and Ino left the room, determined to find out everything they could like everyone else.

A figure stood in the shadows, unnoticed the whole time while the ninjas were talking, and had heard everything that was discussed.

—xXx—

Back in the Hokage's office, Shizune was organizing the mess that was left. Tsunade was busy trying to think how Sasuke and Sakura could be pardon from facing harsh punishments. Kakashi had left not too long ago, saying that he had an errand to run. None of them knew where Naruto went, but knew he was up to something.

"Tsunade-sama," Shizune said as she placed a pot of hot tea on the desk. "You need to rest."

She poured a cup of the warm liquid and handed it to the Godaime. Tsunade took the cup taking a few slips ever so often.

"I know, but still have to think of something to help them," Tsunade said, massaging her temples.

"Actually we have a bigger problem on our hands now," Kakashi said as he appeared in a puff of smoke, putting his favorite book away in his pouch. "The Nara genius and Hyuuga prodigy are suspicious and have drawn the others in on trying to find out about Sasuke and Sakura."

Tsunade immediately sat up on her chair. "What?!" The cup in her hands shattered after gripping it so tightly.

"They're trying to find some answers," Kakashi said. "They've divided themselves into three groups; one group in searching for Naruto, another is going to the library to dig up whatever information they can, and the last group is going to the permanent records."

"Where is Naruto?" Tsunade asked seriously.

"I can't find him anywhere," Kakashi answered. "I have two of my ninja hounds searching for him already and will help Naruto avoid them."

"Shizune," Tsunade yelled out. "I want you go get the permanent files on Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura right now and bring them to me!"

"Hai, Tsunade-sama, I understand!"

"Kakashi go with her!"

"Hai…"

Shizune left the room in a hurry with Kakashi trailing behind. Tsunade sat back into her chair, rubbing her temples and let a frustrated sigh out; things were starting to turn into a mess.

* * *

The weather was horrible by the border of the Rain Village. Water constantly showered down on the earth, drenching everything it came in contact to. Unfortunately for those that live in the village or by the border, they would barely get the chance to see the sun for that the rain wasn't nature's doing.

In a deep cavern on a hill, a fire was lit to keep the individuals warm. They took shelter the moment the rain began to downpour. Their straw hats were set aside as they took the time to rest and replenish their chakra.

"Are you still going to go through with it Itachi?" the missing Mist ninja asked as he set his large weapon aside.

"Aa…"

Kisame looked at the person in front of him who he had been partnered up with for years. To think that after being in the origination for so long, Itachi would finally turn his back on them and destroy them.

"But it won't be easy…" Itachi said as he opened his eyes, revealing his onyx orbs and not the crimson Sharingan eyes. "Of all of them, _he's_ the strongest."

There was only one person the Uchiha was referring to, and that person was their leader. Not too much was known about him, but he was the strongest person in the origination. The rain that fell upon the earth was under his control. He could stop it, make it drizzle, or pour heavily down on the earth; it made people look up to him as if he was some sort of celestial being.

"Yeah I know," Kisame said as a smile made its way across his face, revealing his shark teeth. "That would mean he's the first to go."

Itachi closed his eyes and leaned back to rest. "But _she'll_ be there too, the angel."

The angel referred to one of the members of Akatsuki that worked alongside their leader. Like their leaders, not much was known about her. She was called the angel because it referred to her position in the origination.

"But she shouldn't be that hard to deal with," Kisame said as he threw a stick into the fire to keep it burning. "With all the jutsus you were able to learn through your Sharingan, she would be a lot easier to deal with compared to our leader."

"Assumption could be your undoing, Kisame," Itachi said calmly.

The shark like man snorted at the remark. "I've make all sorts of assumption before going into battle and I'm still here," he said pointed his right thumb at himself. "But that's just how I am, and you know that."

"Hn…"

"I haven't seen you this worn out Itachi," Kisame said, putting a few from twigs into the fire. "And you seem really bothered by something very serious. It has to do with your brother Sasuke, doesn't it?"

Itachi didn't answer the question he was asked. He just sat where he was in silence.

"There's one thing that has been bugging me Itachi," Kisame said in a serious tone.

The older Uchiha opened his eye lids slightly to look at his partner before closing them again. "Go on."

"You said that kunoichi got out the Tsukiyomi before the second day was about to end, right?"

"Aa…"

"What I want to know is how she got out?"

Itachi remained silence. Kisame waited for his partner to reply to his question. He was curious to know what had gone on that forced Itachi out. All the victims he knew who had gone through that torture stayed unconscious forever, in a coma like state never to awaken. The only ones that did get out of it were Sasuke and Kakashi, but they had the legendary sannin Tsunade there to cure them. In Sakura's case, she was able to go through it once and remain conscious. She went the torture a second time only to block Itachi out of her mind before it finished, but was unconscious.

"I don't know…" Itachi said. "All I know is that was another soul in her mind that acted as a shield to stop me from continuing on."

* * *

_Screams of pain echoed through the vast desolate area. The red sky never changed as the black clouds slowly floated by in the sky. The ground was flooded with about an inch of water. No visible form of life was around except for two._

_Her neck, wrist, and ankles were tightly chained to a cross. Her eyes were gazed down, spacing out, the emerald shine gone; every breath she took in was slow and small as if she was drawing her last breath before slipping away into darkness. She was completely worn out, but refused to give in._

"_How much longer so you intend to stay conscious Sakura-san?" the cold calm voice of Itachi asked._

_She didn't answer or say anything. The cold metal blade of a katana ran across her unwounded abdomen, back and forth; it wasn't real, but it was there. When she least expected it, the blade was forcefully shoved into her flesh. A piercing scream escaped her lips from the unbearable pain that flowed throughout her body. None of the metallic liquid was visible upon her body that it seemed like the painful cry was just an act._

"_The second day will end soon," Itachi said as he pulled the blade out of her flesh. "Do you think you can handle one more day?"_

"_You won't get your chance to continue," a voice said from behind._

_Itachi turned around to see who had just said that, but was forcefully kicked back. Landing on the wet ground on his feet, Itachi looked up to find out who had attacked him and saw her. He thought it was a genjutsu, but that wasn't possible._

_There stood, to what Itachi assumed to be Sakura, for she looked exactly like her except for the lettering on her head that said inner._

"_Get out of my head and stay out," she said to Itachi, full of rage._

_She began to charge at him, ready to attack. As she neared, he gripped the katana tightly and slashed her arm. Distracted by wound's pain, Itachi forcefully kicked her back and she landed harshly on the damp ground._

_Seeing that she wasn't going to get up, he headed back toward kunoichi hanging dearly to her life. As he neared her, Sakura's eyelids were slowly beginning to close._

"_You're finally willing to give up now," he said as he eyed her. He brought his left hand up and lifted her head. There were visible bags under her eyes as she tried her best to keep her heavy eye lids from closing. "Tell me, what does my foolish otouto see in you?"_

"_That doesn't concern you at all Itachi," a voice from his left said._

_Itachi tried to avoid the attack, but he wasn't fast enough. Yet again, he was kicked forcefully away. After a rough landing, Itachi looked at his attacker, thinking that it was the same person that attacked him earlier. Oh, was he wrong._

_She stood by the unconscious Sakura, her facial expression stoic. She looked exactly like the pink haired kunoichi, except for the few minor differences. The skin tone was a light chocolate brown, her hair was long and dark red, her lips a dark blue, and her eyes golden instead of the emerald green._

"_Who are you?"_

_She didn't answer and turn toward Sakura. The older Uchiha stood up, watching as she grabbed the chain and yanked it off effortlessly. She caught the body of the pink haired kunoichi and laid her down before turning her full attention at the Akatsuki member in front of her._

"_Will you leave on your own?" she asked as she clenched her fists tightly. "Or do I have to force you out?"_

"_I intend to finish what I started," Itachi answered as he appeared behind her with the katana against her throat. "I will get rid of you if I have to."_

_She didn't flinch one bit from the words Itachi said to her. She closed her eyes and chuckled. Itachi didn't know what was going on, but had a feeling something bad was going to happen. Whether or not it was Sakura's own genjutsu interfering with Tsukiyomi, he had to be prepared._

"_Did you forget where you're at?" she questioned. "When you're here," she suddenly appeared behind Itachi, kunai pointed directly at his heart. "You play by my rules."_

* * *

What happed then on was almost a complete blur to him. All he knew was that the ones that kicked him out of the kunoichi's mind was different from the first he had encountered.

'_I will find out how you did it…my dear sister-in-law….'_

* * *

Shizune hurried over to the quarters where all the permanent files of all ninjas of Konoha were kept at. Kakashi was tailing slowly behind, his eyes focused on his favorite book of all times. When they reached the door, there were two ANBU masked ninjas standing at the door, guarding the pace from any entries.

"State your purpose here," the one with a fox mask said.

"It's an emergency," Shizune answered. "We're here to get a few files Hokage-sama requested."

The two ANBU ninjas looked at one another then turned to face the two.

"You may enter," the one with a dog mask said. "Inform us when you are done."

They two high level ninjas opened the door for Shizune and Kakashi to enter and closed it behind them afterwards.

"Sakura's files are closer to get," Shizune said as she walked past the long aisles until she reached a certain one.

"While you're there Shizune-san," Kakashi said as he walked past her putting his book away. "Take my records out too."

"I don't understand Kakashi-san."

The silver haired man stopped and turned to face the woman. "Knowing the Nara genius and the Hyuuga prodigy, they'll go through whatever source they can to finds out about those two." He turned back and walked past the aisles. "And that includes looking into those that are connected to them too."

She understood now; the original members of team seven were special. If anyone was to look into their permanent files, too many secrets the past Hokages, especially the Sandaime had kept confidential involving the three would be out and the entire village would know. What was written in one file was bound to be found in the other and this was the only way to keep those secrets a secret.

The Sandaime Hokage placed the three of them on a team for a reason and under the care of Kakashi. It was like he knew something was going to happen when those three first became ninjas and made a wise by putting those three in one team.

Shizune went down the aisle, searching for the two files until she finally spotted it. Lucky for her, Sakura's and Kakashi's were right next to each other and that saved her a lot of time. The words Kakashi had said to her played in her mind. It was true and it met more files had to be taken out. She proceeded out of the aisle to get the records of several other shinobis.

Kakashi walked past the aisle with his hands in his pocket and stopped at a particular spot.

'_Sensei's records should be taken out too…'_

Kakashi quickly grabbed that one particular file then went to get those of his students.

—xXx—

They stood on the roof top of one of the building in the heart of the village of Konoha, searching for the loud knuckled headed blond.

"Damn," Kiba swore. "We can't find his scent anywhere!"

Akamaru kept sniffing the air, hopping to be able to catch his scent when the wind blew. Several groups of bugs came flying toward the group and hovered around Shino.

"They can't find anything either," the bug master said. "Have you been able to scene his chakra Neji?"

The male Hyuuga was using his clan's blood limit; veins at the side of his head were pumping chakra into his eyes. He closed his eyes, ceasing the flow of chakra as his eyes turned back to the plain milky white.

"I can't find his chakra anywhere," the Hyuuga answered. "It's like he completely vanished."

"We could always go over to his place to see if he's there," Chouji said with a mouth full of chips.

"I agree," Lee said. "Naruto-kun would usually be there or at his favorite ramen stand."

The Hyuuga prodigy nodded. "Chouji, Lee, you two go check the ramen stand. If he isn't there, meet us at Naruto's house."

"Hai!" the two shinobis said then left.

"What are we going?" Kiba asked the older male.

"We're going to his place to see if he's there."

The three shinobis jumped from roof top to roof top until they reached the apartment where Naruto lived at. Kiba, being the impatient person that he was, began to bang on the door loudly.

"Naruto open up!" Kiba yelled. There wasn't an answer or the slightest sound that indicated someone was inside. Getting frustrated, Kiba banged the door harder to the point where it might fly off its hinges. "We know you're in there so open up already!"

Shino grabbed Kiba's wrist to stop him from actually breaking down the door.

"There's a possibility that he's at the training grounds," Shino said.

"He's not there," Lee said as he and Chouji entered the hallway. "I went to check while Chouji went to check the ramen stand."

"Damn!" Neji cursed as hit the wall beside him. There was only one thing left they could do to try to find the shinobi they're looking for. He went into his pouch, taking out the radio and put it on. "You all have the radios right?" They all nodded. "We'll split up to look for Naruto. If you find him, use your radio to contact the rest of us. We'll approach him as a group not individually. Understood?"

"Hai!" the other four shinobis uttered as they put on the headset for their radios.

"Alright, move out!"

With that said, the five shinobis jumped off into different directions, hoping to find the knuckle headed blond ninja.

—xXx—

Shizune and Kakashi were heading back to Tsunade's office with a stack of files in their arms. Well Kakashi was carrying most of it while Shizune only had a few so that she would have one hand free to open doors. When they reached the door, they just entered without knocking.

"I only asked for the records on Sasuke and Sakura," Tsunade said as she watched the two enter. "Why do you have more than requested?"

"The records of other ninjas that have detail involving them have also been taken out Tsunade-sama," Shizune answered. "Kakashi-san insisted that we take these files too so that certain confidential information doesn't leak out."

Tsunade nodded, understand their intention. "Whose recorders have you taken out?"

"The past Hokages, the legendary sannins, the members of team seven, and the records on other Uchiha members that we found," Shizune said.

"Good work," Tsunade said. "Bring them to my quarters, I'll be looking threw them tonight."

"Hai!" both Shizune and Kakashi said before exiting the room.

Tsunade turned her chair so that she faced the vast view of the village. The only thing she could do has already been done, but she worried about Naruto. Knowing the knuckle head, he wouldn't say a thing about them and would so whatever possible to protect them.

—xXx—

Tenten and Hinata were at the library digging up books about the history of Konoha. They sat at one of the tables in the corner, going through all the books they had gathered from the shelves that talked about the history of Konoha.

"Have you found anything Hinata-chan?"

"Iie…"

"Damn," Tenten cursed. "This is harder than I had expected."

Minutes began to turn into hours, and still they couldn't find anything. One passage, one sentence, or even just the name Uchiha or Haruno would help give them something to go on.

"Tenten-san…" Hinata whispered. "I-I think I-I've f-f-found s-something."

Tenten's head shot up from the text she was reading and looked at the Hyuuga heiress.

"What did you find?" Tenten asked eagerly.

"I-It's n-n-not m-much," Hinata stuttered as she turned the book around so Tenten could read it. "B-b-but it d-does m-mention s-s-something a-about t-the Uchiha Clan."

Tenten hurried and read through the passage on the page. Seeing that the information would probably prove valuable, she pulled out a piece of papers from her pouch and began to copy the important information down.

_Founder of the Uchiha Clan was a man named Uchiha Madara. He was alive during the founding of the great village of Konoha. He had fought a grand battle against the first Hokage at the Valley of the End._

"This is the only piece of information we could get after searching through all these books," Tenten said then sighed. "At least we found something."

Hinata nodded in agreement. "We s-should p-p-put t-these b-books back n-now."

"Yeah…" Tenten said as she closed the open books. "It's getting late and we should head back to the restaurant soon."

—xXx—

Ino and Shikamaru headed toward the building that kept all the records ever documented. It would be difficult to get pass the ANBU guard without a good reason for going there, but the Nara genius had everything covered. Shikamaru had an idea of how to get pass the ANBU guards, but whether or not they will buy his excuse was what bothered him the most.

When they approached the door, they were stopped by the ANBU guards.

"State your purpose here," the one with the fox mask said.

"Umm…" Ino was trying to think up an excuse so that they could pass. "Well…"

"We're here to find out some information on certain ninjas," Shikamaru said seriously. "Tsunade-sama wanted us to take a few notes instead of having to take all the files out."

The two ANBU guards looked at each other, somewhat confused since Shizune and Kakashi were there not too long ago with a stack of files with them when they left.

"Shizune-san and Kakashi-san were here not too long ago on an errand for Hokage-sama," the other ANBU guard said.

"Since Tsunade-sama didn't want to have too much paper work in her office," Shikamaru said. "She asked us to help her gather some information. We're helping in an ongoing investigation."

The two ANBUs bought the excuse and let the two enter in the room. When the doors were closed shut behind them, Ino let a sign of relieve out.

"For a second, I thought we wouldn't be able to get in," Ino said.

"Troublesome woman…" Shikamaru said in a very low whisper so that the blond couldn't hear it.

He walked past the rows of aisles until he reached the one where they would find what they were looking for. He entered and began to look for the tag with the familiar name.

"Whose records are you looking for Shikamaru?"

"Sakura's records," he answered out bluntly.

"Good," Ino said happily. "I'll go and look at the records belong to my Sasuke-kun. When you're done meet me there."

She didn't wait to get a reply from the Nara genius and just went past the aisles toward the end of the room.

—xXx—

Neji, Shino, Kiba, Chouji and Lee were scattered, searching individually for Naruto, but with no luck. Neji was using his Byakugan to search for any signs of Naruto's chakra. Shino had his bugs scattered around the area of the village he was searching to find Naruto's unusual chakra. Kiba and Akamaru were searching for Naruto scent, hoping that would lead them to him. Chouji went to all the local restaurant he thought Naruto might have went to, when it was really all his favorite restaurant he was going to. Lee on the other hand was running around the training areas in search of the blond ninja, thinking that Naruto would be training to get stronger.

"Anything yet guys?" Neji asked trough the radio as he came out from the academy.

"_Negative,"_ Shino reported.

"_Searching for him is making me hungry."_

"_I, Rock Lee, have searched everywhere, but still no sign of Naruto-kun." _Then there was a pause. _"I see Sai. I'll go and ask him if he has seen Naruto-kun."_

Lee ran over the raven hair artist.

"Sai, Sai!"

Sai looked up from his sketch book to see Lee blocking his sun light.

Sai smiled on of his fake smiles. "What do you want bushy-brow?"

"Have you seen Naruto-kun anywhere?"

"I haven't seen the dickless wonder anywhere," Sai said then turned his gaze back to look at unfinished art. "You're blocking my light."

"_Sai hasn't seen Naruto-kun!"_ Lee shouted into the radio.

Everyone winced at the loudness directed into their ear.

"What about you Kiba?" Neji asked as he jumped off to check his next destination, trying to stop the ringing in his ear.

"_Hold on, Akamaru might have found something."_

The other four ninjas stopped in their tracks to listen over the radio.

Kiba and Akamaru were heading toward an abandoned area of the village. The more they walked the less people they saw around. Akamaru had to pick up a faint scent and was able to follow it. Kiba followed his animal companion until the dog stopped and looked straight ahead, whimpering in fear.

"What is it Akamaru?" The dog just gave a low bark and walked back to stand closer to his master, still whimpering. "So his trial goes on here boy?" Kiba asked as he patted his dog's head. Akamaru only gave a small nod to answer the question. "Alright, that's good enough for me."

"_What did you find Kiba?"_ Neji asked through the radio.

"Akamaru found where the Naruto's scent leads to but," Kiba said.

"_What's wrong?"_

"The guy is scared and to tell the truth, I am a bit too," Kiba said.

"_No worries, I, Rock Lee, the handsome green beast of Konoha shall battle the evil!"_

Everyone winced from the loudness of Lee's voice.

"_Kiba, shoot up a flare,"_ Shino said. _"We'll be able to pin point your location and meet you there in a few minutes."_

"No problem."

Kiba reached into his pouch and took out a flare. Pulling off the cap, he threw it up in the air and it exploded into a red light so that the others could find his location.

Suddenly the wind began to blow roughly at the two, as if trying to force or push them away from proceeding any farther. Kiba brought his arms up to shield his face while Akamaru stood behind his master, whimpering in fear.

"Where the hell did this wind come from?" Kiba yelled.

The wind kept blowing for a while longer before it died down a bit.

"This place is giving me the creeps Akamaru," Kiba said in a low voice as he rubbed his dog's head.

Soon the other four shinobis arrived, feeling a bit uncomfortable about being on this side of the village. It was deserted with no sign of a living being anywhere near by or close to the gates that stood ahead.

"Finally you guys are here," Kiba said as he faced his comrades. "This place is haunted."

Neji raised a brow. "Haunted?"

Suddenly strong gust of wind blew toward them, forcing them to leave the area. The gang held their ground, putting up their hands to cover their face from the fierce wind. It died down a bit, but still blew, gesturing for the shinobis to leave.

Akamaru began to whimper again and stood behind his owner, eyeing the closed gates ahead.

"Akamaru is really shaken up," Chouji said.

"He's not the only one," Shino said as he pushed his glasses up. "My bugs are also afraid, I just don't know from what."

There was a pregnant silence. Usually animals and insects could sense ominous thing human beings couldn't, and this was happening.

"Where does Naruto's trail lead to?" Neji asked, finally breaking the eerie silence.

"Toward those gates," Kiba said, pointing to the abandon area ahead. "The scent we followed is fresh, so Naruto is either in there or passes by here not too long ago."

"What is this place anyways?" Lee asked. "I haven't been on this side of the village before."

Neji walked toward the gates, the other following behind.

"Whatever this place is, it's been abandoned for years," Shino said as he glanced around.

As they neared the gates, many unusual sounds were heard. Chouji began to stuff his mouth with more chips, Kiba stood closer to his dog, and Lee's legs were shaking while his body remained still. Neji quickly made a few hand signs and active his Byakugan. He scanned through the walls, but found no source of chakra.

"I can't find a signal chakra," Neji said as he ceased the flow of chakra to his eyes. "He could be deeper-"

"No way Hyuuga," Kiba said, cutting of Neji. "There is no way in hell am I going in there." Chouji and Lee nodded their heads in agreement. "Let's just report what we got to the others and figure out another plan."

Neji nodded. "Alright, let's get out of here."

—xXx—

Shikamaru had no luck in finding Sakura's records and decided that he would look for Kakashi's, but to no avail. He walked past the aisles until he reached the one where Ino was at. He could tell from her angry face that she couldn't find Sasuke's record.

"Did you find forehead girl's records?" the blond asked as she kept of searching for the one particular record she was so interested in.

"No," he answered bored. "I couldn't even find the records belonging to Kakashi-sensei."

Ino stood up and faced her teammate. "Well I had no luck at all. I couldn't find anything on my Sasuke-kun."

"What about Naruto?"

Ino crooked a brow. "Why the hell would I want to look at that idiot's records?"

The Nara genius signed. "Troublesome… Did you see Naruto's records here?"

"No," she answered plainly, crossing her arms over her chest. "So what are we going to do now genius?"

"Troublesome… We head back to the restaurant and hear what the others were able to find out."

—xXx—

Shizune and Kakashi returned to the Hokage's office after dropping off the records. Kakashi's ninja hounds hadn't return to report whether or not they were able to find Naruto.

The sun was beginning to set and Tsunade sat in her office, her mind spinning with so many problems to handle. She pulled open the drawer on the right side of the table and took out a bottle of sake and three small cups. She placed the cups on her desk then poured some of the alcohol into it.

"You two want some?" she asked.

The two other adults nodded and took a cup, drinking its contents.

"Kakashi," a voice from outside the window said. The said person looked out the window to see Pakkun and another one of his ninja dogs beside him. "We kind of found where Naruto might be at."

"What do you mean Pakkun?"

"Well the two of us followed his scent to this creepy area of the village," the small pup said. "Those youngsters followed his scent there too, but didn't find him anywhere."

"Did you find him?"

The small pup shook his head. "Neither of us wanted to go any closer to the place, same with those kids. We just hid, waited until they left then came here to report back to you."

"Good work, you two may leave."

With that said from their master, the two dogs vanished in a puff of smoke.

"It's getting late now," Tsunade said pouring herself another cup of sake. "The two of you can leave now and get some rest."

"Hai," the two said in unison.

Kakashi left in a puff of smoke.

"You should get some rest too Tsunade-sama," Shizune said before leaving the room.

"I know."

Tsunade turned her chair around to face the view of the village. At least half of their problems were solved for now.

—xXx—

They were gathered in a secluded corner area of a restaurant, away from the ears of the customers. After their food had arrived and they knew the waiters and waitresses wouldn't bother them anymore, they began to talk.

"Did you guys find Naruto?" Tenten asked as she began to cut the fish meat on her plate.

"No," Kiba answered bluntly before sticking a piece of meat into his mouth

"But we did follow his scent to this creep abandon area of the village," Lee said with a mouth full of food.

"Well Shikamaru and I didn't have any luck," Ino said stabbing her fork violently into her food. "I couldn't find anything on my precious Sasuke-kun!"

"Naruto is nowhere to found and the records belonging to the original four members of team seven are missing," Shikamaru said. "Tsunade-sama, Kakashi-sensei, or Naruto could have heard of our plans and went ahead on hiding the information from us."

"Tenten-san a-and I-I w-were a-able to f-f-find a little i-i-information a-about t-t-the Uchiha Clan," Hinata stuttered in a low voice.

Tenten pulled out the piece of paper with the copied passage from the book. "This was the only thing we could find." She read it out loud for everyone to hear as they ate. "There wasn't anything else on the Uchiha Clan."

"Well there has to be something else mentions in the texts about the Uchiha Clan," Ino said with a mouth full of food. "They're one of the greatest clans ever!"

"If the Uchiha Clan was that great," Shino said. "Why was Sasuke the only Uchiha in the village?"

"Something must have happened and only the adults know about it," Shikamaru said. "I suggest we try to ask our parents to see if we can find out any information that way."

"Then what are we going to do?" Chouji asked.

The Nara genius sighed. "We'll think up another plan to get more information."

* * *

**Well that's the end of this chapter! The next chapter shall be long as well!**

**Yes, those nine remaining rookies are curious of what's going on and you will have to wait to find out whether or not the secrets of the Uchihas will leak out to them! If you didn't catch it, in the world of Tsukiyomi, inner Sakura tried to beat Itachi, but failed. The one that did save Sakura was another inner I created that's consumed by the curse seal. This inner had a special part in this fanfic, so she'll be back in later chapters.**

**I know people might get tired of hearing this over and over again... I'm taking the time to edit the past chapter to make some minor changes and add some stuff.**

**Well that's it for now, until next chapter. Please review! Virtual sweets for all!**


	22. Chap 22: Preparing

**Hey there everyone! A huge thank you to all of those that have reviewed! (tackle hugs all the reviewers!) Virtual sweets for all! I know the previous chapter didn't have any Sasuke/Sakura action, but this chapter will include them in it. This chapter will also answer the reviewers' questions that I received for the last chapter. I don't know whether the remaining six members of the rookie nine and team Gai know about the Uchiha massacre in the manga. The lay out for this fanfic is different from the manga.**

**Anyways, many that reviewed like that Ino is back to being the bitchy person that she is and can't wait to see her reaction when she finds out that Sasuke and Sakura are married. LOL! Also I'm going to keep the six remaining members of the rookie nine and team Gai in the dark about Sasuke and Sakura because of what going to happen in future chapters. There are a lot of scene changes in this chapter. Now on with the story! Sorry for any mistakes that are in this chapter!! ENJOY!!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this fanfic. **

* * *

Chapter 22: Preparing 

Everyone was beginning to head home to rest after the long day. They all paid their share of the bill before leaving. Soon after, Neji and Shikamaru were the only two remaining.

"We should leave now too," Neji said.

The Nara genius agreed and the both left the restaurant. When they stepped out, Shikamaru went into his pocket, pulled out a cigarette, and stuck he bud between his lips. He went into his other pocket and pulled out a lighter. Using his left hand to cover the small flame, the Nara genius lit his cigarette.

"You know those things kill right?"

"I know, but it calms me and helps me think." Shikamaru exhaled a puff of smoke. "If you don't have to head on home yet, I would like to talk to you."

"Talk about what?"

Shikamaru exhaled. "Something," he said. "We'll talk over by the training grounds where it's safer and away from other's ears."

"Aa…"

With that said the two shinobis jumped onto the roof top of a nearby building and headed toward the train ground by the stream.

The night sky was clear, the stars shining vividly against the dark background and the large mood glowed brightly. Nocturnal animals that lived in the forest came out to hunt for their meal. Crickets within the grass made their rhythmic noise.

"What is it that you wanted to talk about?" Neji asked as he sat on the ground against a tree. "Is it really this important that the others couldn't hear about it?"

"Yeah it is," Shikamaru said before inhaling from his cigarette. "Didn't you find it odd that we didn't find out much?"

Neji nodded. "We can only assume someone had heard our plans. Whoever it was is very skilled to be able to hide their chakra that well since none of us sensed another chakra present around."

"It could have been the ANBU ninjas, but I doubt Tsunade-sama would let the ANBU ninjas in on something this big," Shikamaru said before inhaling from the cigarette.

"We are all aware of the ANBU ninjas being under the Hokage's control. There is a chance she's using the ANBU to keep information confidential."

"True, but we can only assume until we are able to find more evidence."

Neji looked up into the night sky, and then something came into mind. "Nara." The said person turned his head to face the person that just called him. "I'm not sure if it's true, but I think the Uchiha Clan was massacred. If I remember correctly, it was probably around the time you and the others first entered the academy."

Shikamaru exhaled smoke from his mouth. "Now that you mention it, I think you're right. Because it happened when we were young and so long ago, we most likely wouldn't remember. The adults never talk about it either."

"It also explains the uneasiness we felt when we were by that compound," Neji said. "At least now we have a little more information about the Uchiha Clan."

"True." Shikamaru dropped the cigarette on to the ground then extinguished it by stepped on it. "But I have a feeling that whatever Hokage-sama, Kakashi-sensei, and Naruto are hiding from us, we're not suppose to know until they want to tell us."

"What makes you think that?"

"The missing files and Naruto is nowhere to be found."

"It is possible that Hokage-sama imprison him and Kakashi-sensei for treason because they helped two S-ranked criminal."

"I don't think that is the case; Tsunade-sama treated Sakura like she was her own daughter. Remember how her reaction was to all the news of Sakura?"

The Hyuuga prodigy turned to the Nara genius. "Then Hokage-sama is also committing treason."

—xXx—

Naruto closed the gates of the Uchiha compound after spending much of his time there. A lot of work had to be done and it would take time. With the help of his bunshins, he had gathered most of the debris and set it in a pile to be disposed of later. Naruto was planning to go on home then, but he decided against it and ended up spending his time walking around the compound.

As he walked, he looked at all the blood around. A sadden pain went through him for he felt as if he was witnessing the massacre while walking the streets. He then spent the rest of his day deep in the district at the mansion Sasuke lived in as a child.

He went through the house and felt jealous; Sasuke had a family while he was left all alone. But that life Sasuke had changed when Itachi turned his back on his entire clan. He went to sit on the roof top and absorbed everything he saw and felt. Even though none of it had happened to him, he felt a pain in his chest; it was affecting him but not as much as it did Sasuke.

By the time Naruto decided that it was time to leave, it was dark out and most people had already returned home.

"I'll try to come back tomorrow," Naruto said to no one in particular.

Naruto locked the gates then bowed slightly before leaving to head on home.

—xXx—

Midnight was drawing near when Tsunade finally decided it was time for her to sleep. She had been standing at the roof top of the Hokage mansion, just looking out into the sky. It has hard for to stop worrying about Sakura and Sasuke.

"Come back safely," Tsunade said into the night before the turned to enter the building.

* * *

_The surrounding was musty and dark. The only light source was the lit fire in the center, blazing high._

_His body was chained up against the wall, blood dripping down from his open wounds and onto the dark earth. The metallic smell of the crimson liquid was in the air and the burning fair only made the smell worse. He lifted his head up and saw in front of him stood his brother and behind Itachi, lying on the ground was his injured wife, completely drained of chakra._

"_Did you really believe that you could defeat me otouto?" Itachi asked as he turned around and walked toward Sakura._

_Fright was visible in her eyes and she struggled to back away from him, but he kept moving closer._

"_Stay away…" she whimpered. "Don't come near me…."_

"_ITACHI, STAY AWAY FROM SAKURA!" he yelled out in anger. "THIS IS ONLY BETWEEN YOU AND ME!"_

"_Then try and stopped me otouto." Itachi chucked. "She's a part of the family now, an Uchiha like us."_

_She was corned against a wall with nowhere to go. With whatever strength she could muster up, Sakura tried to throw a punch, but her wrist was caught. She did her best to struggle free from Itachi's grasp, but no avail. Both her arms were pinned to the side of her head as tears began to slide down the corner of her eyes._

"_LEAVE HER ALONE ITACHI!" he screamed out._

_He struggled the all he could to be free of the chains, but it was no use. His words did nothing to stop Itachi from proceeding on. Itachi looked her figure and couldn't help but wonder what Sasuke saw in her._

"_What is so special about her otouto?" Itachi asked, but he didn't receive an answer_

_He turned his head slightly to look at his brother, and only smirked to see a glare being sent his way. He was going to make him suffer as if he was reliving the nightmare of his childhood. Itachi turned his attention back to the girl in front of him. A small smirk made its way across his lips; he thought of the perfect way to make his little brother suffer._

"_Scream for me Sakura-san."_

_Itachi bit down on her skin at the crook of her neck. Unable to hold in the pain, Sakura screamed, more tears streaming down her cheeks. Blood was beginning to seep out from her skin as Itachi continued to bite down harder, sinking his teeth into her flesh._

"_Stop, it hurts!" she yelled out, crying. "Make him stop!"_

_He couldn't do anything to protect her, he couldn't save her. All he could do was throw words out and struggle to free himself._

"_KEEP SAKURA OUT OF THIS ITACHI!"_

_Itachi released his bite and pulled away from her. He licked the blood around his mouth and turned to face Sasuke. A katana fell out from his right sleeve and Itachi gripped the hilt tightly._

_Sakura stood against the wall, trembling afraid of what was going to happen. She didn't have any chakra and couldn't do anything to help him like she had promised._

"_Too bad you won't be able to live your life with her otouto."_

_He's eyes widen as Itachi drove the blade directly into Sakura's heart._

* * *

Sasuke admittedly sat up panting heavily, beads of sweet rolling down his body. It was like the nightmare was playing out what could possibly happen to him and Sakura when they encounter Itachi for their final battle. 

He looked toward his right, down at his sleeping wife. The blanket covered her body, leaving her shoulders and arms exposed. She lay on her left side, the fingers of her right hand touching the necklace around her neck. Her left arm was on the pillow, by her head. Her cherry lips were slightly parted, inhaling and exhaling even breaths.

He turned his gaze toward the balcony window. Even thought the curtains covered his view, he could tell that it was still dark outside. Sasuke wanted to train in order to get stronger; stronger to defeat his brother and to protect his Sakura. He wasn't going to let anything happen to her, he was going to live his life with her when the whole ordeal was finally over.

He rubbed his temples as he lay back down on the bed. He need to get that vision out of his head if he wanted to be able to go back to sleep.

"Daijoubu Sasuke-kun?" Sakura's soft voice asked.

Sasuke stopped massaging his temples and turned to look at the woman beside him. She stared back at him with half lidded eyes.

"Aa…"

Sakura leaned up on her left arm and stared into his onyx eyes. She could tell something was wrong and he wasn't going to tell her what it was. Not wanting to force him, Sakura just moved over toward him and embraced him. She pulled him in close that their naked bodies pressed against each others.

"It's okay if you don't want to tell me," she whispered into her right ear. She pulled back and leaned her forehead against his. "Get some rest okay?"

"Aa…"

Sakura smiled then placed a light kiss on the tip of his nose before moving back to her spot on the bed. Liking the feeling of her body against his, Sasuke wrapped his right arm around her waist and pulled her into him. She simply obeyed and laid her head on the junction between his neck and shoulder. His left hand held on to her right and brought it up to his lips, placing a simple kiss on her knuckles. He freed her hand and her fingers traced the tattoo on his forearm then laced their fingers together then rested their hands upon his well defined chest.

Sasuke ran his free hand through her hair; his head was slightly slanted downward, gazing at her sleeping face. He wanted to wake up every day, for the rest of his life with Sakura right there beside him; nothing to worry about and no one there to take it all away from him.

'_I'm going to protect you no matter what happens.'_

* * *

The rain had finally lightened, but the air was still damp. It was dark out, but it was the perfect time to start heading out. Itachi and Kisame placed their straw hats back on and headed toward the base where they would be sure to find one of the other members of Akatsuki, Zetsu. 

Taking out Zetsu first was their main focus. He was missing ninja from the Hidden Grass Village and worked in Akatsuki as a spy and also disposed all evidence that would lead to the organization. Zetsu is one person no one would want to get on the bad side of; even Itachi respected him. One thing for sure was that he wasn't like any ordinary human being.

They entered a cave right by the border, hidden within the trees. The place was lit with torches, but it was still hard to see in the dark.

"I wonder who it is?" a demanding voice asked, coming from the darkness. The same voice then talked again, but in a different attitude and tone. "I think it is Itachi-san and Kisame-san."

"No need to worry Zetsu-san," Itachi said as he and his partner removed their straw hats. "We are of no threat."

Kisame just snored at what Itachi said.

Emerging from the darkness Zetsu came forth. He looked almost like an average person, but there were some differences that were very noticeable. The left side of his body was white while his right side was black; somewhat representing his split personality people rarely saw. Surrounding his head and shoulder was what looked like a gigantic Venus flytrap. If his looks weren't scary, knowing what he's like would. Being the member that disposed of all evidence so nothing could be found mainly bodies, Zetsu's method was to eat them.

Yes, this ninja from the Hidden Grass Village was a cannibal.

"What bring you two here?" Zetsu's demanding voice asked. "That's no way to great guests!" the calmer side of Zetsu said.

"We're here to rest up."

"And to get out of the coming storm," Kisame added in.

"You two want some sake?" Zetsu's calm voice asked.

"Why not?" Kisame said happily. "Tell me where it is and I'll go get it."

Zetsu told him where the supply of food was at then led Itachi to a spot where they could sit and talk.

"You know Orochimaru is dead right Itachi-san?" Itachi shifted his eyes to the man, beckoning to go on. "Your brother was the one that killed him. The legendary sannins are now reduced down to two. "

"How long ago was it?"

"Almost a week ago, but I still couldn't find that ring of his when I searched through his base." The man's voice changed to the demanding one. "I still have to dispose that ring."

"Orochimaru was weak and the ring has no purpose or value anymore," Itachi said calmly.

"That's not the only other person you little brother killed," Zetsu said. "He defeated Deidara as well."

"Alight you two," Kisame said as he neared. "Enough talk, drink up."

In his hand was a tray of food and sake. Itachi turned his gaze slightly toward his partner. Kisame only grinned and took his bottle of sake and drank it down; Zetsu doing the same as well. Itachi poured the sake in a cup and slowly drank it.

"When are you two going to go after the Kyuubi?" Zetsu's demanding voice asked.

Itachi looked at the person that asked. "Only time will tell us."

Suddenly Zetsu began to cough violently.

"Take it easy Zetsu," Kisame said. "There's no need to rush."

Zetsu kept on coughing that blood began to run from the corner of his mouth. Itachi looked over at the Akatsuki spy, his face emotionless.

"What did you add into the sake Kisame?" Zetsu rasped out.

No one answered. Itachi got up from where he was sitting and punched Zetsu across the room. He walked over to the spy and stood in front of him. Itachi brought his hands up and made a few quick hand signs.

"What are you doing Itachi?" Zetsu yelled out, angrily. "Kisame stop him!"

Itachi brought his right hand toward his mouth and black fire was blown out. The fire admittedly surrounded the body of Zetsu.

"You're betraying the origination Itachi!"

The fire burned and slowly began to disintegrate Zetsu's flesh. Itachi just remained in his place, watching the rest of the body get eaten away by the flames. Kisame turned and watched as the body of a former comrade turn into ashes by the unusual black fire.

"One down and three to go," Kisame said before finishing his sake.

Nothing but ashes remained as the black fire kept burning on, slowly spreading.

"Let's go," Itachi said as he turned around to head out.

Kisame tossed his empty bottle into the flames then followed Itachi out of the cave. When they reached the entrance, they saw the sun was beginning to rise in the gray sky.

"Where are we heading to next?"

"The base," was the only answer Itachi said before putting on the straw hat.

* * *

Sasuke opened his eyes slightly and saw bits of sun light leaking through the sides of the dark curtains, making the outline of the cloth glow. The sun was rising and he would be able to go out to train. He turned his head slightly to the right to the woman that lay against his chest. She was sleeping peacefully, calm with no worries written on her face. He brought his left hand up and stroke her cheek gently so not to wake her. Lose strands of pink hair covered her face and moved them back behind her ear. The small action caused Sakura to stir a bit and open her drowsy eyes slightly. Her eyes shifted up toward him, a small smile making its way across her cherry lips. 

"Ohayo Sasuke-kun," she whispered, snuggling closer to his warm body.

"It's still early to be up."

She leaned up slightly and placed a tender kiss on his lips then placed her forehead against his. "Same goes for you." Sakura sat up leaning on her left hand and holding the blanket up to her chest with her other hand. "You need the rest more than I do Sasuke-kun."

What Sakura said was right, but it was easier said than done, especially at a time like this.

His right hand reached up to her face and stroked her cheek tenderly then ran down to the back of her neck. Sasuke pulled her down, their lips smashing into each other's. He slowly moved their bodies so that he was on top. Her arms wrapped around his broad shoulders, hands tangled in his raven hair. They soon broke the kiss for air. Sasuke stared at his wife; his face erased with no emotions expressed, but his eyes showed sadness.

"I can't rest peacefully until he's dead," he said in a low voice, but Sakura hear it and understood what he meant.

He sat up, pulling his wife up with him, their eye contact never breaking. Her luscious petite figure was exposed to him when the blanket slid down her body. His hands ran down her shoulders and arms then traced her curves, memorizing every detail. Sasuke brought his head down and rested on her left shoulder. He took in her special scent no other woman would have, the scent of cherry blossoms. The fingers of his left hand traced her neckline toward the necklace, placing the pendants neatly against her skin.

Sakura's left arm rested against his back and her right hand ran through his raven hair. She felt the man in her arms was replaced with a child, a lonely child seeking comfort from his mother. It was somewhat true for she was the only comfort he had.

Though he never told her, Sakura reminded him of his mother, Mikoto. If a picture of the two women were placed next to each other, they looked so much alike that someone would have mistaken them as sisters. But that wasn't the only thing, their personalities are similar too.

Looking back at his parents, he now understood them more. Their attraction was similar if not alike the one he had with Sakura. Even thought he would never admit it, his own personality was like Fugaku.

"I'm going to go train for a while," he said, moved back to face her.

She brought her hand over his neck then cupped his cheeks. "Promise me you won't strain yourself," Sakura said with worry visible in her emerald green orbs.

"Aa…"

Sakura placed chaste kiss on his lips before he pulled away and headed toward their pack to get some clothes to dress into. Sakura crawled over to the edge of the bed and grabbed one of the thin inner robes from the layers of kimono on the ground to put on to cover her body. After tying the strap loosely around her waist, she walked over to her husband. She felt a slight soreness between her legs, but the good thing was that the pain wasn't as excruciating as the first time.

Once he had his pants on, he felt Sakura's slender arms wrap around his torso from behind, arms secured under his. Her head leaded against his back, her chest pressed against his naked back.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked, turning his head slightly back to see her face. His voice was smooth yet demanding at the same time, but she understood he was trying to be caring.

She shook her head in response then said, "Everything just feels right at this moment."

Sakura held on to him for a while longer then released her arms. He turned around, lowered his head, and then placed a kiss against her right cheek.

"I'll be back later," he said pulling away.

Before leaving the room, he grabbed his black haori and a cloak then headed out. Sakura turned her attention to getting their things together. She gathered all their worn clothing and brought it into the bathroom to start washing them.

—xXx—

Sasuke walked out the abandon town to a clearing by the woods. When he was back in Oto, he had other ninjas to train against and would usually spar against Orochimaru. Even though Sakura was traveling with him, he would have asked her, but he didn't want to hurt her. Sasuke was planning to put himself under harsh intense training to get stronger within the short time period. It would be difficult, but his determination and goals drove him to keep going.

'_**You promised your lovely wife you wouldn't strain yourself while training,'**_ inner Sasuke said.

Sasuke paid no attention to what his inner ego said and removed the left arm guard. With a few quick hand signs, he created five bunshins of himself. He then bit into his right thumb and smeared blood over the tattoo.

'_I need to get stronger,'_ Sasuke said to himself and his inner. _'I won't let him have his way and hurt her.'_ He began to make the hand signs for the summoning jutsu. "I will protect her and win this battle!"

—xXx—

The sun had fully risen when Sakura finally had all the wet clothes hanging out the balcony to dry. She was still in the robe and needed to get changed. Remembering that Sasuke had some clothing brought for her when they were in town yesterday, she decided that it was best to start wearing them.

After taking out the bag from her pack, she peered in and saw that there were enough clothes in the bag to last her for at least two weeks. A few pair of shorts and pants, shirts, and believe it or not, panties and bras. There was also a white nightgown too, made out of thin silk! This was completely unexpected. She took out every panties and bra, not believing that Sasuke had actually bought those for her.

'_I can't believe it,'_ Sakura thought to herself. _'Sasuke-kun brought these for me.'_

Not wanting to think about it anymore, Sakura just grabbed a pair of matching panties and bra, pair of shorts she had taken with her from Sound, and a tank top then headed to the bathroom. Without taking a shower, she just decided to change into her outfit and put on the white haori she wore yesterday.

As she removed the robe and examined her body in the mirror she stood in front of, she couldn't help but become shock and blush. She saw all the loves bits around her neck and chest from their heated nights; two nights in a row! The dark purple ones caught her attention, especially the one right under her navel.

She ran the fingers of her right hand along her neck, trailing the red marks on her body. When her fingers touched the one nearest to the curse mark, she clenched her shoulder, coving the mark.

"This little thing changed my entire life," Sakura whispered.

With no knowledge of what she looked like when she released the seal, Sakura decided to find out. She let the marks spread across her body and slow consume her appearance. Her face was emotionless, but her eyes showed sorrow.

She watched as her creamy white skin turned a light chocolate brown, covering up all the love bites. Her fingers becoming like claws, her pink hair turned red as it grew in length, and cherry lips turned a dark blue. When she was fully transformed did tears began to gather in her golden eyes and slid down her cheeks.

What she saw in the mirror wasn't Uchiha Sakura or Haruno Sakura; she saw a monster. Not wanting to see the image any more, Sakura made the curse seal retreat back. Those golden orbs she had reminded her of Orochimaru; he will forever haunt her and Sasuke as long as the seal was on them.

Sakura hugged her body and shut her eyes tightly; what would life have been like if Orochimaru had never existed? Would she still end up where she was now with Sasuke? Would she be as strong as she was now?

'_Things happen for a reason, if not then we wouldn't be where we are at now.'_

Those very words Kakashi had said to her once played in her head. It was true; things did happen for a reason.

Sakura wiped her tears dry and calm herself; she didn't want to think negative thoughts. All she needed to do was enjoy her life she now shared with Sasuke and hope things would turn out for the better in the end.

Sakura changed into her clothes and walked out of the bathroom. She strapped her holster and pouch then headed toward the door. A few parchments she had taken out from her pack and decided to take it with her, to look at it later.

"Ohayo Sakura-san," a voice said from below as Sakura opened the door of the room. The little kitten looked up at the kunoichi and noticed her slightly red eyes. "Daijoubu Sakura-san?"

"Ohayo, Hina," the kunoichi said. "I'm fine. What bring you here?"

"Sasuke requested that I bring you to our lab," the kitten answered. "Breakfast has also been prepared for you and it will be brought over there."

"The elder is being too kind to us," Sakura said in a low voice. "I feel bad for not being able to do anything in return."

"Don't worry about it Sakura-san," Hina said as she began to lead the way to the lab. "You and Sasuke aren't of any burden to us here."

Sakura closed the door to the room and followed the kitten to the lab. After turning the corner, the soreness between her legs began to grow. She bit her lips to keep herself from cursing out loud at the pain.

'_**You know pain is a good thing in your case," **_inner Sakura said.

'_No it's not! I can't take a step without pain admitting between my legs!'_

'_**Quit complaining about the pain. All that matters is that you're married to Uchiha Sasuke and you had wild hot sex with him.'**_

'_Oh I feel better already…'_ Sakura said sarcastically to her inner.

Fortunately for Sakura, the lab wasn't very far away. When she and Hina reached the lab, breakfast was set by a table. Denka was on the table, pushing a glass of juice with his head to have everything set neatly on the table.

The room was surrounded with cabinets and drawers, supplies with all different sorts of herbs, medicine, and all the different medical supplies. In the center of the room were tables with syringes, flasks, and glass tubes.

"Sakura-san your breakfast is ready," Denka said from as he sat on top the table across from where Sakura was to be seated.

Sakura snapped out of her daze and turned around to enjoy her breakfast.

"The elder said that when you're done, help yourself to whatever you need to use to prepare," Denka said before leaping off the table. "Hina and I'll be back later Sakura-san."

"You don't need to bother with me," Sakura said. "Oh and please tell elder cat I said arigatou."

"No problem."

Sakura was left alone in the lab. She quickly ate her breakfast then headed to begin working on making needed medicines, ointments, and pills she didn't have or will probably need in the future.

* * *

It was early afternoon by the time Naruto finally woke up, but he was still somewhat tired. Even though he hadn't brush his teeth, he wanted to satisfy the hunger in this stomach. He walked out of his room, sluggishly, only to bump into someone. 

The blond ninja looked up and started blankly at the person in front of him , only to come face to face with something he hated; Icha Icha Paradise. Naruto jumped backward in surprise and fright; thinking that he was still asleep and everything.

"It about time you woke up Naruto," the man said from behind his book.

When he finally realized who it was, Naruto point an accusing finger at the silver haired man. "How the hell did you get in Kakashi-sansei?" Naruto yelled.

"That's not important at this moment," Kakashi said as he closed his book and put it away in his pouch. "Go change and grab something quick to eat; we have to go see Tsunade-sama right away."

—xXx—

"You two are late," Tsunade said as Kakashi and Naruto appeared in the room in a puff of smoke. "I don't want to hear an excuse, we have more important matters."

"We received a message from Sasuke this morning," Shizune said.

"Hontou?" Naruto asked. "What did he say?"

"He gave us information on the Akatsuki," Tsunade answered. "It's been rumored that Itachi and Kisame have turned on the origination and are going to kill the remaining members."

"Nani? Doushite?"

"Sasuke doesn't know either and is going to find out all he can to conform this, but we still can't relax. If these rumors aren't true, we have to deal with Akatsuki."

"Did Sasuke-teme say anything else?"

Tsunade turned her chair so that she looked out the window. "In about two weeks, the Uchiha brothers are going to have their final battle."

The room fell silent; they all knew what this met for Sasuke.

"Teme will win," Naruto said to break the pregnant silence. "He'll win and come back home to Konoha with Sakura-chan. All we need to do is believe in him and wait for their return."

Shizune and Kakashi smiled at Naruto; they could always count of him to break the gloomy atmosphere. Tsunade turned her chair around and faced the two original members of team seven.

"Now for the important matters concerning us," the Godaime said.

"What are you talking about Tsunade-baa-chan?"

"I'm sending you two on a mission," Tsunade said the two males. "I don't want either one of you to be in the village until things have settled down a bit."

"What the hell am I missing?" Naruto yelled. "Tell me Tsunade-baa-chan!"

A vain popped on her forehead, but the Godaime stayed calm. "Your mission is simple, but you must stay alert at all times," Tsunade said. "They might try to follow you to find out information on them."

"Hai," Kakashi said.

"Who are you talking about?" Naruto yelled out. "Can someone tell me what's going on?"

Tsunade finally snapped and punched Naruto across the room. "Be patient you baka!"

"I'll tell you during our mission Naruto," the sliver haired ninja said, pulling out his orange book. "I'll meet you at the gates at seven in the evening."

With that said, the silver haired disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"This is unfair for me," Naruto grown.

* * *

Sasuke was hidden in the wood, panting heavy; his body covered in dirt and dry blood. There were gashes along his body and they stung like hell, he also had a few fractured bones. This is what he got when he pushed himself to train this way. 

He quickly jumped off the tree as one of his clones came charging at him with chidori. The tree broke the moment the lightning attack came in contact with the bark.

'_That was too close.'_

Looking back to see if the clone was following him, Sasuke failed to notice a large purple snake end swinging toward him. When he turned his attention, it was too late to dodge the attack. He took the full blow of the attack, flying out of the woods, and hit the dirt ground hard.

The scourging heat from the sun was heating everything in its view. His body ached all over as he pushed himself to sit up. Five clones, in better condition than himself appeared and stood in front of him. Emerging from the woods were three gigantic snakes he had summoned to help in his training, one of them was Tomo. As the reptiles neared, the five clones left in a puff of smoke.

"Did the three of you get yourself a meal while in the forest?" Sasuke asked as he stood, his left arms clenched around his wounded abdomen.

"Hai," Tomo said.

"You're an idiot to train the way you did brat," the purple one said hissing.

"Your need to show some respect to Sasuke-san, Mandan," the midnight blue one said. "You're attitude becoming just like ojii-san."

"So what, I'm becoming like my tou-san," Mandan said. "It's not like it's going to kill me Riku."

"The three of you are dismissed," Sasuke said.

"Finally," Mandan said then disappeared in a large puff of smoke.

"I apologize on behave of Mandan on the last attack Sasuke-sama," Tomo said.

"Hn."

Tomo left in a huge puff of smoke, leaving only Riku and Sasuke. The reptile noticed Sasuke was having trouble standing and walking would be difficult, especially with all those injuries. The Uchiha turned and began to slowly walk toward the abandoned town. Wanting to prevent his master from making his curtain condition worse, the large reptile slithered ahead and blocked Sasuke's path. Riku lowered his head down, indicating for Sasuke to get on. The Uchiha only started blankly at his summoning.

"Sasuke-san you are too injured to walk a great distance," the snake said. "I will bring you to your destination as close as you want me to go."

Knowing that Riku was right about what he said, Sasuke nodded slightly and got on the head of the reptile. Riku rose up and heading in the direction his master was headed before he stopped him. Sasuke didn't pay attention to how serious his injuries were and was now regretting for going too far in his training.

"There's only an abandoned town ahead Sasuke-san."

Sasuke pulled the hood of the cloak up and laid on the snakes head; his body was in tremendous pain and needed to relax until Sakura could heal him.

"Head for the strongest chakra presence and you'll find Sakura," Sasuke said before he slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

Itachi and Kisame stood at the mountain that over looked the Hidden Village of Rain. The rain was pouring heavily making it difficult to see into the distance. Lightning would flash once in awhile and thunder could be heard in the distance. 

"It has been awhile since we were in the village," Kisame said. "And this is probably our last."

Itachi said nothing and stared down at the village; the very place where he became a member of the origination Akatsuki.

"We'll camp out here for a few days before going into the village," Itachi said turning around to enter the woods for shelter.

The rogue Mist ninja just crook a brow at him partner. "Aren't we going down to finish the job?"

"Did you forget who we're facing Kisame?"

Kisame followed Itachi into the woods. "Why are we camping out here instead of staying at one of the inns? It beats sleeping out here and it's dry."

"We need a plan," Itachi said. "And knowing most people are very loyal to Pain, our plans would be foiled."

"We could always try to find a deserted place in the village to stay at."

"Konan will find us," Itachi said bluntly.

"This is a freaking pain in the ass."

* * *

Sakura had spend half the day in the lab making all sort of things they were in need of and might come in handy in the upcoming battle. She was heading back to the room with several small vial of different color liquid potions and containers with pills or ointment. 

When she reached the room, she set everything on the desk by the window balcony; she planned to put everything away later. Sakura stepped out of the room to the balcony and started to collect the hung clothing. She folded and stacked everything neatly before bring all the cloths inside and putting it away in the provided dresser. Sakura then headed back out the balcony window to enjoy the fresh air.

She hugged her body, closed her eyes, and let her hair sway with the light blowing wind. This was very relaxing that she felt like she was on the training grounds back in Konoha. Sakura sighed softly; things would be different if she ever did return back to Konoha with Sasuke.

Sakura felt slightly drowsy, after spending so much time with different sorts of chemicals. She turned back in to the room and fell onto the bed. Her husband's scent was on pillow she laid upon as she snuggled into the bed. Sakura closed her eyes slowly and allowed her drowsiness over take her.

The kunoichi hadn't fallen into a deep slumber when she heard something outside the balcony window. Sakura immediately sat up; she felt something was wrong.

"Sakura-san, are you there?" she heard from outside the balcony window.

The said person got up from the bed and went to the balcony. There she saw a large midnight blue snake and Sasuke lying on top of its head. The reptile rose up so that his head was leveled high enough so that she could reach Sasuke.

"What happened to Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked as she immediately went to check for Sasuke's pulse, fearing that he could be dead.

She was relieved when she found his pulse, but it was weak. His body had gone through a harsh beating, lost too much blood, and was very low on chakra.

"He put himself through a very brutal training and ended up like this Sakura-san," Riku answered. "Sasuke-san told me to come to this abandoned town and search for you."

Sakura examined Sasuke's body; he went too far if he considered this training.

"Lean you head this way so I can get Sasuke-kun off."

The snake obeyed and tilted his head toward the kunoichi. Sasuke's body slowly slid down while her hands kept him from falling off. Until his feet touched the ground, Sakura lean him against her body to keep him up.

"Arigatou for bring Sasuke-kun back," Sakura said. "I'll take care of him from here."

The reptile nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Sakura pulled Sasuke into the room the best she could without hurting him. When she neared the bed, she removed the cloak, the black sleeveless haori, and Kusanagi from the stash he had around his waist. She laid him down gently and sat beside him. She removed his sandals and placed them aside.

She gazed over his body injured body; she had to do a lot of healing.

'_What were you thinking Sasuke-kun?'_

* * *

**Well that's the end of this chapter! Sorry it took so long, I took me awhile to think up certain parts. **

**For Sasuke's nightmare, I wanted him to see Itachi hurting Sakura, to really drive him to train to get stronger. The scene where Sakura has a small mental break down took me a while to put together. I wanted her to feel Orochimaru was still haunting her and Sasuke, even though he's dead.**

**If there are any questions, don't hesitate to ask. That's it for now, until next chapter. Please review! Virtual sweets for all!**


	23. Chap 23: Drawing Near

**Hello there to all readers. A huge thank you to all of those that reviewed. (tackle hugs all the reviewers!) I really appreciation all the comments and suggestions.**

**Well this chapter does contain spoilers if you're not up to date with the manga so you can't blame me for not warning you. This chapter also has a lot of scene change. Yes in the previous chapter, you met two new snakes, Mandan and Riku. I'm trying to portray that Mandan is related to Manda if no one got that. Anyways, on with the story! Sorry for the mistakes that are in this chapter! ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this fanfic.**

* * *

Chapter 23: Drawing Near

Shizune had left to go work at the hospital, Kakashi was nowhere to be found, and Naruto was packing for his mission. The Hokage's office was empty except for the Godaime herself and stacks of paperwork. It was late in the afternoon and Tsunade just sat in her office drinking her last bottle of sake.

She was had spent most of the day working on the pile of papers around the desk to distract her worries. Unfortunately it didn't work for her, but she did get much done.

"Something troubling you Tsunade?" a deep voice asked. "Or are you just drinking for the hell of it?"

"Urusai Jiraiya." Tsunade turned her chair so that she faced her teammate sitting on the window sill. "You better have found something of importance to be bothering me now."

"Is that how you greet your old teammate, even if I was just dropping by to visit?" Jiraiya said in a hurt tone. "Could it be that your menstrual cycle has to do with your grumpy mood?"

A vine popped on her forehead. "You better tell me what you found out before I send you flying out the village."

"The location of Akatsuki's leader," the man said casually.

Tsunade immediately stood from her chair. "Spill it already you pervert. I don't want any more time wasted."

"Calm down now woman, no need to start freaking out unless you want to cause more problems." The toad sage just grinned. "Let got out for a drink first, it's been forever since we had some sake together. And I'm not asking you out on a date, it's just two old teammates getting a drink."

"Are you out of your mind?" the Godaime yelled as another vain popped on her forehead. "I don't give a damn whether it's a date or not! A bunch of our ninjas are out on a mission already and if something goes wrong I have to be there. I'm the Hokage of this village and I can't just walk off from my duties to have a drink of sake with you!"

—xXx—

The two legendary sannins were at a local bar in the village, secluded away from the villagers present so that they could have a private conversation. Tsunade was drinking out of a huge bottle of sake, all happy, but not yet drunk. Jiraiya sat across from the Hokage and sweat dropped.

"You should really take your own advice you know? You said so yourself that you were the Hokage, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah… so it's true then? Akatsuki's leader is in the Hidden Rain Village?" Jiraiya just nodded. "But their country has extraordinarily strict border control…anyone entering has to declare their purpose, length of stay, and is subject to constant surveillance." Tsunade took another sip from her bottle of sake. "Even during the chuunin exams, they kept thing so tightly controlled it caused everyone all sorts of problems." Jiraiya just nodded in agreement with what she said. "It's not the kind of village someone in his position would be able to move around easily."

Jiraiya shook his head. "More reason for him to be there." Tsunade crook a brow. "A place that protects its own secrets from outside countries, with its strict control, is the perfect place to hide its shameful truths."

"Shameful? What the hell do you mean by that?"

"Apparently that country has been embroiled in a civil war for quite a while now." Jiraiya leaned forward. "Rumor has it that Akatsuki's leader is in charge of one side."

Tsunade snorted and leaned back on in her seat. "You know just as well as I that the Hidden Rain Village has always been the battlefield for its surrounding countries, and the fire country is one of them." She let out a heavy sign. "Their government has never been able to achieve any kind of stability and the number of refugees there has increased greatly over the years…."

"You don't get it, do you Tsunade?" Jiraiya asked. "That's the exact reason why I need to infiltrate the village and find out if the rumors are true." Jiraiya took a drink of his sake. "If the rumors and what's going on are true, we'll come up with a plan when I return."

"You are not going to the Hidden Rain Village alone," Tsunade said sitting up straight. "It's way too dangerous, even for an old fart like you."

"Do you have that little faith in me?" Jiraiya asked in a playful hurt tone. "Did you forget that I'm one of the Leaf's legendary sannins? I might be old, but this old fart has all sorts of tricks up his sleeves."

Tsunade didn't say anything and turned her gaze away from her teammate. "Gomen… I keep pushing you into shitty situations."

Jiraiya started to laugh. "Where's the hell did that come from? The alcohol must really be getting to you."

Tsunade didn't respond to the man. "You were originally slated to become the Godaime Hokage… our sensei, the Sandaime, always wanted you to succeed him…."

"I would be a terrible Hokage! I mean look at me, I'm too free-spirited and –"

Tsunade cut him off. "You regretted not being able to stop Orochimaru, so you resigned yourself to keep track of him." The white haired man stayed quiet. "Am I right?"

"Well I don't need to concern myself with him anymore." Jiraiya wanted to try to lighten the atmosphere. "All I want to do now is to focus on my next novel. I want to it to sell out within the first month."

The Godaime seemed to be lost in thought. "And yet, truth is still stranger than fiction…I still can't believe that he's dead…."

There was a pregnant silence between the two legendary sannins. They were going through their past memories of when they themselves were genins.

"Remember when the three of us would go up to the third and –"

Jiraiya cut her off. "I can't believe our little flat chest Tsunade grew up to have such massive breasts and actually become the Godaime Hokage!" Jiraiya said loudly, joy running through him. Tsunade started at the man, surprised at his sudden our burst. "Time sure has changed… I mean look at you, you're a fifty year old hag and yet you still look beautiful." The toad sage drank a bit of his sake. "I hate to say it, but my role has changed since the old days…. Now my job is to help the new generation, and set a good example for them. And for that I'll gladly put my life on the line and I'll be smiling the whole time." Jiraiya laughed. "It's about the only cool think old farts like me can do."

Tsunade could only smile at Jiraiya's foolishness.

* * *

Sakura moved lose strains of hair away from this sweaty face; he looked at peace when he slept. She did understand what drove him to train more, but this was considered going too far. There was one thing she thought of that could have pushed him to strain his own body, his memories and nightmares.

Yes she was pissed about this when he had promised that he wouldn't strain himself, but she knew why Sasuke was doing this. His revenge is first priority and she knew it wasn't just for his clan's massacre; Sasuke was also doing it for what Itachi had done to her.

Sakura lean down and placed a light kiss against his lips. She caressed his cheek gently knowing that she couldn't stay mad at him for very long, especially when he was in this state.

She noticed a wound on his forehead that had stopped bleeding because the blood had dried up, but she knew she would have to bandage it up later. Sakura tied her hair back and pulled up the sleeves of the haori so it wouldn't get in the way as she did her job.

She needed to check his body's condition to find out how much chakra she would be using to heal him. Different degrees of injuries take up different amount of chakra to heal. Sakura placed her right hand on his chest and her left on his forehead. Her hands began to glow green with chakra as she examined his body to see to what extent of damage his body had taken.

There wasn't any form of poison in his body; five of his lower ribs were fractured and a bruise was beginning to become visible. His left shoulder suffered from second degree burns and his right wrist was broken. His left ankle was twisted and his right leg had a huge gash that was still bleeding slightly. He had other wounds on his body, but none were as serious as the one he had on his leg. His entire body was coved in dirt and dry blood and needed to be cleaned away before Sakura could heal her husband so none of his wounds would get infected.

Sakura removed her hands from her husband and made quick hand seals, creating a clone to help her get some things together. She sent the clone to get what she needed prepared for her while she started healing Sasuke's broken and fractured bones. The clone went into the bathroom to get a small basin of hot water and a cloth to use to clean up the dirt and dry blood on his body. When the clone returned back to the room, she placed the filled basin on the night stand by the bed, placed an empty one on the ground then went to get the needed medicine on the desk and a cut of water. The clone also grabbed several roles of bandages that would be needed. When everything needed was on the desk, the clone disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The young Uchiha matriarch had finished mending all of her husband's fractured and broken bones, but he would have to rest in order to heal properly. She wiped the sweat on her forehead with the sleeves of the haori. She had used up a lot of chakra already, but she still had enough to heal the major injuries. She first needed to heal Sasuke's gash on his leg before he lost too much blood and the wound got infected.

She had a slight blush on her cheeks when she realized she would have to remove Sasuke's pants and leave him only in his boxers. It was necessary if she wanted to heal him properly; it wasn't like she hadn't seen him completely naked before.

Sakura unfastened his pants and slowly removed it so that the cloth didn't touch the gash. When it was off, she examined the wound and saw that she needed to clean it before healing. She cleaned the wound and drained the blood around that had mixed with dirt and sweat; the crimson liquid floating in her hand. When she was done, Sakura disposed of the liquid in the empty basin then began to heal the wound. She healed it to the point where the bleeding stopped and his body would be able to heal on its own.

The last thing she needed to heal now was the burn on his shoulder. Sakura sat him up and made him lean back against a propped up pillow. Not wanting to waste anymore time, the young wife healed burn so that there was only a red spot left; his body would have to do the rest of the healing.

Sakura grabbed the wet cloth in the filled basin and began to gently wipe away all the dirt and blood from his face and his body. She would wet the cloth in the basin once in a while then resume cleaning him. She left like she had become a mother taking care of her child.

'_Is this what being an oka-san feels like?'_ Sakura looked down at her abdomen and smiled. _'It's still early for us to be having a child, especially at a time like this.'_

'_**What if there is another life growing in you?' **_Sakura's inner asked. _**'What would you do then?'**_

'_Love my little baby and cherish it. Hopefully he or she will have siblings to play with too.' _Sakura continued to wipe away the dirt and dried blood on her husband. _'It's still too early to know if I am pregnant or not, even if we did make love for the first time about a week ago.'_

'_**If you say so.'**_

When Sakura was done, she grabbed the bandages on the night stand and began to wrap all his wounds after applying some medicine on it.

The last thing she had to do now was to make Sasuke take two pills that would help his body. Sakura reached into her pouch and pulled out two black pills; one was to help Sasuke's body replenish its blood supply quicker and the other was to build up his low chakra level.

Before feeding him the pills, Sakura needed to make sure he was able to take it on his own. She took the glass of water from the stand and placed it against her husband's lip. Sasuke didn't respond when the liquid touched his lips and let it run down the corner of his lips.

Sakura had to make him take the pills and she didn't have any other choice but to feed it to him herself. She popped one of the pills into her mouth and drank some of the water. Sakura pushed her lips against Sasuke's and forced the liquid and pill into his mouth. She withdrew back and saw Sasuke sallow everything without any problem. She did it once more with the final pill then laid him back down on the bed. She pulled the warm blanket up to cover his body then went to clean things up.

Sakura took the two basins with her to the bathroom and poured the liquid down the sink. Sasuke's clothes were set aside to be washed tomorrow. She washed her hands thoroughly then went to get some clothes to change into after she took a shower. As she grabbed the night gown Sasuke had brought her, she heard a knock on the door.

She placed her stuff down and went to answer the door. Standing outside was the elder cat's granddaughter with a large tray of food in her hands, covered with a top to keep the contents hot.

"Gomen Sakura-san," she said. "I hope I'm not bothering you, but I brought you and Sasuke-san a meal."

Sakura took in the tray. "Arigatou, but you didn't have to go through the trouble of preparing a meal for us."

The girl shook her head. "It was nothing. When you're done, just leave the tray out by the door and one of the cats will pick it up."

"Alright. Oh can you tell me where the kitchen is?" Sakura asked, smiling sweetly. "I'll go and make the rest of our meals from now on. I don't want you to be bothered by this sort of simple stuff."

The girl told Sakura the location of the kitchen then bid her farewell. The young kunoichi brought the food in and placed it on the desk. She gathered her stuff then headed to the bathroom.

She stripped off her clothes and set them with the rest of dirty clothes to be washed. Turning on the water until it was warm, Sakura made sure the door wasn't closed all the way so that she was able to check on Sasuke if he ever woke up.

When the water temperature was finally to her liking, Sakura stepped into the shower. The water loosened her body and slightly massaged her. She washed herself thoroughly, using the proved shampoos and soaps. She needed this relaxing shower. When she was done, she dried herself and put on the clean pair of lingerie on. She stepped out of the steaming bath room when she was done, her wet hair wrapped in a towel above her head.

The sun was setting and the air was beginning to grow cold. Sakura grabbed one of Sasuke's many clean white haori and put it on. She went toward the window and looked out into the distance.

'_Only a few more days…'_

* * *

The sun was beginning to set in the village as the two sannins tried to make their way back to the Hokage mansion. They had to stop a few time, well mainly Tsunade. She was stopping once in a while, slightly throwing up.

"Sheesh, you're even worse with sake than I am," the toad sage said. "Let's find a place for you to sit and rest a bit."

They stopped by an area by the Hokage mansion that was quiet, not one villager around. The two sannins sat on a bench and just stared off into the view of the great village.

"You're dealing with someone who's strong enough to keep Akatsuki in line," Tsunade said to break the pregnant silence. "We have no idea what his powers are… and you're going to waltz right into his turf."

"Hai, that's my plan…." The white haired man stood from his seat. "Well I should get moving now."

"Come back alive…" Jiraiya just stared at the blond, shocked. "I don't know what would happen to Naruto… or to me if…"

Jiraiya laughed. "Are you going to cry for me? I'm honored!" The man continued to laugh. "I don't suppose I'll get as many tears as they did though. And Naruto would stay strong no matter what!"

"Asshole…"

"Then put your gambling skills to use. You always pick the losing bet so just bet everything you got on me dying and I'll return back alive and well."

"Nani, –"

Jiraiya burst out laughing. "I'm kidding! I'm very grateful to you, you know?" Tsunade just crooked a brow. "Getting dumped always makes a man stronger." The white haired man pulled out his novel. "And if he hadn't experienced it enough to be able to laugh and joke about it, or at least use it as material, he can't fulfill his duties as a man."

Tsunade just looked at the man oddly. "So it's the man's responsibility to be strong, eh?"

"Hai, pretty much…" Jiraiya then turned a bit serious with a stupid grin on his face. "But then again, men aren't meant to pursue happiness. I mean look at me, I'm still signal at this old age. Not only that, but I've become a better man and ninja because of you."

The Hokage just snorted. "You men are all alike…. Without women around, there'd be no one to reject your advances and toughen you up! You would probably be a bigger pain in the ass if I wasn't around."

Jiraiya just laughed. "And I wonder how Orochimaru and sensei would have dealt with me then without you around."

_We still don't know if the rumors are true; it could be a trap of some sort to lure the dope out. It would be best to avoid any form of battle against Akatsuki so not to get in the crossfire if Itachi really is planning to destroy the origination. He may use those that are fighting against the Akatsuki members as decoys before going in for the kill. Knowing Itachi, he will not spare anyone._

Those words that Sasuke had written in the letter played in her mind.

"Jiraiya," Tsunade said seriously. Her old teammate stopped laughing and looked at her. "Whatever happens, do not engage in battle with any members of Akatsuki, even if it's the leader."

"Nani? Doushite?"

"Just listen to me. I'm not just telling you as your teammate, but ordering you as Hokage of this village." Tsunade turn to face the man. "Just return back and inform me of what you have gathered. If anything happens and you get drawn into battle, send one of your toads and I'll personally come to back you up immediately. I'll get you out of that mess and bring you back here."

"I don't think so Tsunade." His tone was serious. "You absolutely have to remain in the village no matter what. This place relies on you to keep it together."

"Tch, there are plenty of other candidates for Hokage and you know it."

"Then how are people suppose to be comfortable living if their Hokage is constantly changing? You're the Hokage because you are the best person for the job in the village and that's that!"

"Did you forget? We've got Kakashi and Naruto eventually. Kakashi was trained by him and becoming Hokage isn't just Naruto's goal, it's in his blood."

"Kakashi's a given. But Naruto's a long way off, especially after what's he has been through recently, even if you did see fit to give him you necklace. The kid has gone through too much in such a short time." He let out a heavy sign. "And there's that huge secret we've been keeping from him."

"You're the one to talk; you've practically crammed him full of power. You even taught him the Rasengan when he wasn't fully ready! And he mastered it within a short time period!"

"Yeah, and maybe I shouldn't have." He sighed. "It just felt like I was teaching Minato all over again and…"

"Namikaze Minato… the resemblance is undeniable…" the Godaime said in a low voice. She somewhat felt guilty for hiding something this big from Naruto. "When I first saw Naruto, I thought for a second that it was Minato. Especially their determination to become Hokage."

"You too, eh?" She nodded. "Minato had talent and was a genius… no one like him has been born in a while. He was just a nice kid, yet his guts and desire to succeed were the fiercest I'd ever seen." Jiraiya chuckled. "And in the blink of an eye, he was our Yondaime Hokage. If he had been my son, I would have bragged about all the time, day and night."

"You did brag about him and the kid when he wasn't even born yet!"

Jiraiya laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Really, I don't remember."

She shook her head slightly. "Hearing you say that makes me think of how different they are too." Tsunade shifted her gaze up to the sky. "If I had to choose, I'd say he's much more similar to his mother."

"…you mean that female ninja of the former whirlpool country… I know her name, yet I can think of it…"

"Uzumaki Kushina… his personality and ninjutsu style is exactly like hers."

"That's right, her name was Kushina! I remember that red head now, the constant jabbering and her tomboyish demeanor… she was just like one of the boys! When she married that brat Minato that was a shocker! And when she became pregnant that was an even bigger surprise! You know, I could have used her in one of my novels."

Tsunade twitched slightly at Jiraiya's last comment. "Kushina became amazingly beautiful as she grew up… but Naruto does look a lot his father."

"That's why I said I see him in Naruto. I've come to think of him as my own grandson now… well actually I kind of am his grandfather." He laughed slightly. "Man do I feel old compare to them." Jiraiya gathered his things together. "I'll be off now, but let me give you one last word of advice. Be careful of root."

"Don't worry, I know…"

"Well that's good to hear," Jiraiya said as he began walking.

"Jiraiya!" The man stopped and turned his head slightly to look back. "You better come back alive." The male sannin raised a brow as he watch the Hokage get up from her seat. "For Naruto's sake, you're going to tell him all about Minato and Kushina. I'm making it your mission."

The toad sage smiled, that was going to be one hell of a problem. He wave back at his teammate before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

—xXx—

Naruto was finishing his fourth bowl of ramen at his favorite stand, Ichiraku's.

"Do you want another bowl Naruto?" the chief said.

Naruto slurped up the noodles that were hanging off his mouth. "It's okay ojii-san. I have a mission to go on and just wanted to have a few bowls before I left."

Of all his customers, Naruto was the best of them all. He would always come by, and when he became a ninja, his teammates could come along with him too.

The chief could only smile. "Naruto, this meal is on the house tonight." Naruto slurped up more noodles before staring at the chief, confused. "Just make sure when they return, the three of you will come by for a meal."

Naruto just smiled. At least there was someone in the village that believed both Sasuke and Sakura were still good people. "Arigatou ojii-san!" Naruto lifted up the bowl and drank up all the soup. When he was done, he placed the bowl back down on the counter. "Arigatou for the meal ojii-san." Naruto got off his seat and picked up his pack on the ground. "See you in a few days."

* * *

Sakura didn't eat much of her meal; she kept worrying about her raven haired husband. She decided to leave the tray of food in the room so if she ever got hungry, she would have something to eat. She noticed the two parchments she had yet to look at rolled up on the desk. She unrolled the parchments and saw they were wanted posters; three of them to be exact.

The first one was Sasuke's; his head was slightly turned away but his Sharingan was looked toward her. There was a bit of dirt on his face with purple chakra around him. She assumed that the photo was taken after a battle he had. The next one was hers; she was wearing the Konoha ANBU uniform, the red tattoo visible on her right arm, her pink bangs recognizable, and half her face was hidden away behind a mask.

Whoever had taken the picture had taken it when she was either removing or putting on the mask during that one time Tsunade had placed her on an ANBU mission as a medic. That specific mission requested a highly trained medical ninja. Because all the other ANBU medics were on other missions, Tsunade had no other choice but to have Sakura go. The red ANBU tattoo had to be marked on her skin so there wasn't any suspicion. Since the tattoo was permanent, she was forced to cover it after the mission in order to conceal her identity as an ANBU ninja.

The final parchment was of Naruto; surrounded by the red chakra of the demon sealed within him. He wasn't consumed by it, only the chakra was surrounding him. His bright blue eyes showed anger, his body injured in different places.

The three members of team seven, the new generation of sannins were wanted. Each held a high reward if captured dead or alive. Sasuke and Naruto having the higher numbers compared to hers; seven hundred million each and she was only three million. If she was pregnant with an Uchiha heir, her bounty would sky rocket, probably equal to that of Sasuke's and Naruto's. Now their life was filled with even more danger because of this. Why must thing be so difficult?

Sakura would have talk to Sasuke about it and hopefully they could avoid any unnecessary encounters.

The night was beginning to grow chilly despite how nice the weather was during the day. She found a thick navy blue robe in the dresser and decided she would slip it on him to keep him warm.

A signal candle by the bed on the night stand was enough to dimly light the room. Sakura sat on her side of the bed and kneed down beside Sasuke. Sitting him up and letting his body lean into hers as she put his arms into the sleeves of the robe. When done, she was going to lay him back down on the bed, but she heard him groan slightly. He shifted a bit in her arms before settling back into a deep slumber.

She didn't want to let him go; she wanted to hold on to him until the very end. She set him back down on the bed and blew out the candle. She took her place on the bed next to her husband, her arms entwined with his left. She left him grip her hand, as if he was reassuring her that everything was going to be alright.

Though they still had several days before the big battle, Sakura couldn't help but feel as if everything was drawing near the end.

* * *

Naruto had reached the gates of Konoha within ten minutes and it was only a quarter pass seven. He knew he was the first to be there because he just had to have a certain ninja as his sensei.

"You're fifteen minutes late Naruto," a voice behind the blond said.

The blond jumped in fright and turned around with a kunai drawn, ready to pounce on the enemy. To his surprise, it wasn't an enemy, but the perverted sensei himself.

The boy pointed an accusing finger at the silver haired man that hid his face behind the special book of his. "Why the hell are you here before me?" the blond yelled out.

"Well there was this elderly woman…."

"I don't want to hear your crappy excuse sensei, even if it's going to explain why you're here before me," Naruto said grumbling. "Let's get this mission over with!"

Kakashi closed his book and put it way in his pouch. His visible eye shifted around their surroundings to check if there was anyone following them. To their luck, there wasn't anyone following them.

"Hurry up Kakashi-sensei!"

"Keep your pants on Naruto," the copy ninja said as he headed out of the village gates. "We're going to head to the next town and spend the night there."

"But it's already dark out sensei!" Naruto yelled out. "We should have left right after Tsunade-baa-chan assigned us the mission."

"Be patient Naruto, not all missions can be rushed."

Naruto groaned; time was going to pass by slowly during their mission.

They had been jumping from tree to tree for a little more than an hour when they finally reached the next town they were supposed to spend the night at. Kakashi had rented a two bedroom room for them to stay at in one of the local inns in the town.

"Ne sensei," Naruto said as he jumped onto his bed after coming out of the shower. He wore his blue pajamas and his sleeping cap. "What was Tsunade-baa-chan talking about some people trying to find out some information?"

Kakashi pulled his book down slightly and looked at his student. "Shikamaru and Neji have gotten suspicious about things and were trying to find out information about Sasuke and Sakura. They apparently have drawn the other in too."

"Nani?" the blond yelled. "Did they find anything? If they did I'll Rasengan their asses if they say a word to anyone!"

"There's no need to panic Naruto," Kakashi said casually as he turned his focus back on the book. "Things have been taken care of and they don't know a thing about Sasuke and Sakura."

Naruto sighed in relief. "So what's our mission sensei?"

"Nothing actually," the copy ninja answered. "We're going to remain out of the village until Tsunade-sama sends for us to go back."

"Oh…" Naruto was silent for a moment. "NANI?"

* * *

Sakura had a hard time falling asleep; there was too much on her mind and she felt slightly uncomfortable. She needed to get some air and clear her mind. She got off the bed as quietly as she could and went over the balcony.

She slipped out into the cold night and looked up at the sky. The moon and stars were shining brightly against the dark background. There were also several clouds floating around and the crickets made their music in the distance. A light gust of wind blew her hair to side, making the trees rustle. She hugged her body and began to run her arms to stay warm.

'_I haven't contacted Tsunade-shishou for a while now…'_

'_**You should write back to her at least before you have to be on the move again.'**_

Sakura agreed with her inner and went back inside. She lit one of the candles on the desk, pulled out a piece of paper and ink to begin writing. There was so much she could say to her, but most of it would have to wait until they were reunited.

After spending some time writing what she wanted to say in the letter, Sakura went over to the window. She remembered the way Sasuke had sent his letter and decided to use the same method. With a few quick hand signs, the paper folded into a paper bird and flew away into the night.

With the paper bird out of sight, Sakura closed the window, blew out the candle, and returned back to the bed. She lay on her side, her eyes focused on her husband. There was so much for them to fulfill, but time was against them.

She kept her eyes opens, just staring at his face. When sleep finally over came her, she fell sound asleep.

* * *

Special appreciations to two good fanfic buddies of mine:** nelly04 **and** animequeen100**. They tried helped me with certain parts I was lost at. (hands each a bag of cookies)

**Please read my SASUSAKU one shot Last Day in the Office.**

**Well that's the end of this chapter. Yes I know it's not as long as I promised it to be, but I wanted to post up what I had before the holidays.**

**The scene between Tsunade and Jiraiya is almost exactly like the one in the manga, but I added and altered it a bit to make it fit into this chapter. I was also trying to show that they had feeling for each other too, but it's hard to do so. I also wanted to show the relation Jiraiya had with Minato (the Yondaime). Yes Naruto and Kakashi don't have a real mission; you can call it a vacation if you want to. If you have read carefully and remembered what had happened in previous chapters, Sasuke and Sakura have bounties on their head. Reread chapter 18 toward the end if you need to recap.**

**Until the next chapter, most likely will be posted before the end of the year or the beginning of next. Please review everyone! Virtual sweets for all!**


	24. Chap 24: Fear of Losing You

**Hey there readers! Please do me a HUGE favor by reading the important author note at the end of this chapter. Enjoy!**

**Warning: If you don't want to see Sakura get hurt, skip the dream! There are LEMONS in this chapter! If you hate LEMONS, skip it. Don't say I didn't warn you because YOU'VE BEEN WARN!!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this fanfic.**

* * *

Chapter 24: Fear of Losing You

The new assumptions Shikamaru and Neji made were kept to themselves until they were able to confirm all that they could. Even with all they knew, they didn't wish the share it with the others until they thought it was time. The remaining seven tried to get information from their parents or other adults that knew about the Uchiha Clan, but were never able to break the barrier of silence they stood behind.

It was early in the morning and the sun had just begun to rise in the horizon. Shikamaru walked over to the training ground where Team Gai usually trains at. There were several target board pinned to the trees, each with several kunais and shurikens embedded in it.

"You're late Nara," the Hyuuga prodigy said.

He was sitting in a meditating position in the middle of a clearing with his eyes closed. The late arriving ninja walked over to stand in front of the person he was meeting. He sat on the fallen log and faced his senior.

"More like you're early," Shikamaru said as he went into his vest pouch for a cigarette.

The Nara genius lit his cigarette and began smoking it. A pregnant silence when on between the two as nature made its sounds.

"Have you come to a decision?"

"Not really." Shikamaru blew out a puff of smoke. "Sasuke was a fellow shinobi from the Hidden Leaf, our comrade, and now he is a criminal to this village. As a shinobi of this village -"

"It's the way of the Leaf to risk our lives for our comrades," Neji said, cutting of his junior. He opened his creamy white eyes to look at the person in front of him. "You spoke those words once, long before."

"Tch, but that was long ago."

"The same applies to Haruno; she was once a ninja of the Leaf and is now an S-ranked criminal." Neji stood up. "Which is worth more, risking your life for criminals that were once our comrades or risking your life for your village and the lives inhabiting it?"

Shikamaru inhale from his cigarette. "We both consider Sakura our comrade more than we do of Sasuke."

"It's harder to decide now isn't it?" Neji asked as he closed his eyes to listen to the surroundings.

"Yes, but they're both S-ranked criminal, stronger than the sannins. Breaking the rules could land us in the same position as them."

"Then there's also the problems that will erupt within our clans," the Byakugan user said opening his eyes again.

The Nara genius exhaled smoke. "What have you decided on doing?"

"They are only two powerful ninja," Neji said. "Against a village with ninjas that range stronger than the other villages." Neji turned his glaze up to the sky. "And with all the consequences I choose the safety of the village and its citizens."

He inhaled his deeply from his cigarette. "What if Naruto and Kakashi-sensei fight with them and the Godaime herself?"

"Then we have no other choice," Neji said. "We are train ninjas; we have to follow the rules or end up facing severe consequences."

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru dropped the cigarette onto the ground. He stepped on it to extinguish it. "If they were able to destroy Oto on their own, there's a change they're capable of bring Konoha down. With the possibility of three top ninjas joining them, things can only get worse."

* * *

Deep in a cave by the village borders of Rain, a large fire was lit to keep its occupants warm. Fish could be smelled cooking deep within the cave. Their straw hats were set aside as they sat close to the warmth of the fire; the rain was making the temperature drop, pouring down constantly without a break, and it was best to stay out of it. Kisame was eating one of his half cooked fish as Itachi sat in a meditating position, his eyes closed.

They had already spent a day camping out in the cave and Kisame wanted to get out, but the cave was their only choice. They needed the element of surprise if they wanted to destroy the main person of Akatsuki. Even with the element of surprise and knowledge of different jutsus, it still wasn't going to be an easy task.

Time seem to slip by slowly, at least for the former Mist ninja. He needed something to entertain his boredom while his silence partner seemed to be enjoying the quiet surrounding.

"When are we going to strike Pein and Konan?" Kisame said with a mouth full of fish meat in his mouth. "I'm getting sick of just sitting around doing nothing."

The Uchiha didn't answer his partner's question. The taller Akatsuki member kept on eating his food as he stared at his partner for an answer. Hoshigaki Kisame only joined in on the destruction of Akatsuki so he wouldn't have to continue being a slave to the origination or be killed by Itachi. If he hadn't, Itachi wouldn't have killed off the ninja the moment the Uchiha put his plan into action.

"What about Tobi?" the shark man asked, wanting to get some information from his partner. "He must be going after the Kyuubi now, at least that's what I've been hearing. How are we going to get him?"

Still Itachi said nothing and kept on meditating on. A pregnant silence occurred between the two until the Uchiha finally opened his eyes. His red eyes were calm as if he just woke up from eternal slumber.

"If Tobi hasn't found out yet, he should be dead in a matter of days," was all the Uchiha said. "His playfulness will be his undoing."

Kisame crooked a brow at his partner; Itachi seemed to have planned everything ahead of time before actually carrying out his plan. He must have plotted this for months, maybe even years to be this prepared. Whatever he had done to Tobi was a total mystery to the Mist ninja and it got him curious.

"What did you do to the kid?"

Again, Itachi didn't answer his partner question. He reached out for one of the fully cooked fish and took it away from the fire to eat. When he was about to take a bit out of it, the Uchiha turned his head the entrance of the cave.

"It seems we might just be able to finish this earlier than expected."

Kisame crooked a brow at his partner. Yes, he had been working with Itachi for some years, but the older Uchiha was always a mystery and would remain a mystery to him.

"What the hell are you talking about Itachi?"

The said Uchiha turned his glaze toward his partner. "We might be in lucky if he becomes a decoy for us."

* * *

_He slowly opened his eyes only to be greeted by a dark musty room. He was able to make out the outline of a wooden door on his right and tried to listen in on anything to find out where he was. Unfortunately, he was unable to hear anything outside and presumed that the door and walls were either very thick or soundproof._

_There was a candle light that dimly lit the room on his left. He noticed it was smaller than an average room as he shifted his eyes to look at his surroundings. The place was much more fitting to be a bedroom and he assumed it was one. It was hard to make things out in the dark until his eyes had finally adjusted._

_His entire body was sore and in pain, completely drained of chakra. He didn't have to be a medic to know that his body was injured badly; a few broken or fractured bones, torn muscles, dark bruise upon his body, and a few areas where his blood had dried, stopping the bleeding. His arms where chained high above his head, to the point where he had to stand on his toes to lessen the strain on his wrist. He tugged on it and saw that the metal was bolted firmly to the wall. It would take him a while to break free from it._

_He lifted his head up and noticed there was a bed not too far from where he stood. He noticed a figure lying oddly on the mattress, but couldn't make out what the figure was. He shifted his glaze to get a better look of the room as his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness._

_His assumption of being in a bed room was correct, but it was a windowless room. It was small, almost the same size as the room he had when he was in Sound. His eyes traced the ground to the bed and noticed some torn clothing lying on the ground, female clothing. There was also two bloody kunai on the ground, on top of the clothing. They looked so familiar, yet he couldn't quite guess who own them. When he finally realized whose clothing they were, his eyes widened._

_The clothes belonged to his wife, Sakura._

_He hastily turned his glaze to the bed and saw her lying there in the middle of the bed. With the help from the small flame from the candle light, he was able to look over her and noticed she was pale. Her arms where chained above her head to the either the wall or bed end. The chains used were to keep her there and to drain her chakra. Her unconscious naked body was left in plain view, not one blanket there to cover her exposed form. Her face was looking directly at him and he noticed her cheeks were stained with her dry tears and her lips swollen and red. There was also a fresh small scratch on her left cheek. He looked over her entire body and saw all the cuts, bruise, and bite marks upon her body; some old and some fresh. What he saw next didn't just anger him, but concerned him greatly._

_Her legs were tied down and spread apart._

_Her legs were positioned strangely, trying to cover her most private part of her body, but it did no good. Her skin was bleeding from the chakra wires wrapped around her ankles, indicating she had attempted to pull her legs free. There was dry blood around her lower abdomen, inner thighs and on the sheets below her. There was also another bloody kunai there beside her on the bed, covered in more blood than necessary if it was only used to cut her skin. It looked more like the kunai has been drenched in a pool of blood._

_He didn't understand what was going on. There were so many questions running through his head. Where were they? What had happened before he blacked out? Why was he chained up? Why was his wife tied up and naked on a bed? What had happened to her while he was unconscious?_

_Sakura began to stir and open her emerald eyes slightly. When she saw her lover in front of her, her eyes widened._

"_Sasuke-kun…" She struggled to move, only to wince in pain. Sakura looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears. "Make him stop Sasuke-kun…it hurts so much…"_

_That was all he needed to hear to know something had happened to her and it was horrible. He wanted to run over to her and embrace her tightly. He wanted to hold his cherry blossom in his arms and protect her from whatever had hurt her._

_They heard the doorknob move. Sakura's eyes look in fright, her body trembling. He darted his eyes toward to the door, wanting to see who had touched his blossom. When the door opened, the face of the man that ruined his life walked in._

"_You're finally awake otouto," he said, closing the door silently behind him._

"_Itachi!" he growled. "What the hell did you do to Sakura?"_

_The older Uchiha said nothing and walked toward the woman on the bed. Sakura struggled to free herself, but to no avail. She bit her lower lips as she kept on her attempt. She was whimpering in fright as she kept on tugged to try to free either her arms or legs._

_He didn't know what to do. All he knew was that whatever Itachi had done to his wife had scared her and she didn't want to go through it again. He tried struggling out of the chains that kept him tied up, but he too couldn't get away. He needed to stop Itachi from getting any closer to her._

"_ANSWER ME ITACHI!"_

_He stopped in his tracks and turned toward his brother. "I had the pleasure of entertaining myself with your cherry blossom otouto."_

_Now all the pieces of the puzzle fit and his questions were answered. He had lost the battle and his wife had become a toy for his brother pleasure._

"_Stay away from her you bastard," he said with venom dripping from every word. "Or you'll end up regretting everything."_

_Itachi was unaffected by the threat. "It's a shame though otouto, Sakura-san never seemed to enjoy it." He received a glare from the chained man. "Even when I pretended to be you by disguising myself with a jutsu, she still would never give in to me."_

_He clenched his fists tightly, he wanted to ripe the man to pieces; Itachi had gone too far now. He was using a woman who was now related to him through marriage._

"_Shall I demonstrate for you otouto?" Itachi asked as he continued toward the bed._

_His eyes widen; he didn't want his cherry blossom tainted anymore by a man that had no heart._

"_Keep your filthy body away from her Itachi!"_

_His words did nothing to stop the older Uchiha. When Itachi reached the bed, he sat down beside her exposed body. Sakura was trembling in fear; tears gathered in her eyes and began to fall. Her emerald eyes pleaded him to leave her alone, but that did no good. His right hand touched her right thigh and slowly made its way up her body._

"_Stop…onegai…" she begged. She didn't want to go through the torture anymore after suffering so much from it already. "Onegai…leave me alone…"_

_Itachi kept on moving up, not caring about the pledges from the woman or the words his brother was throwing out at him. The Akatsuki member knew his brother was trying to pull free to attack him, but the changes of the chains breaking were slim. She couldn't stand watching anymore and shut her eyes tightly, tears still spilling out of the corner of her eyes._

_When his hand reached her breast, he grabbed it roughly and squeezed. Her eyes shot open as she yelled out in pain and tried to move away._

"_Itachi leave her alone!"_

_Itachi removed his hand away from her body only to grab her chin roughly. He leaned down and claimed her swollen lips in a rough kiss. Sakura kept on resisting, mentally and physically; she didn't return the kiss and struggled to get away. Itachi finally broke the kiss and began to trail down her neck and body. She kept whimpering, wanting everything to stop, wanting to be in the arm of the one Uchiha she had fallen in love with._

"_Get away from her Itachi!"_

_He understood his wife's pain and wanted to save her, protect her. He kept on struggling with the chains; yanking all he could to try to get free. He couldn't stand watching his cherry blossom being tainted by another man, especially by his brother. Itachi had done enough to ruin his life when he was younger and to do it again was unbearable._

_Itachi suddenly latched his mouth onto one of her nipples. She kept writhing beneath him, wanted to get away, hoping that everything was a dream._

"_Onegai, stop!" she begged between sobs._

_His filthy hands roamed over her entire body, stroking her skin to calm her, but it did no good. Sakura's eyes suddenly widen as she cried out in pain, more tears flowing from her eyes. Itachi had bit down hard on her breast to the point where blood was being drawn from her creamy white skin. He did the same to her other nipple when he switched._

_She was losing; she had stopped struggling, no energy or chakra left in her to try to fight against Itachi._

"_Make…him…stop…Sasuke-kun," she sobbed._

_With all the strength he could muster, he tried to pull the chains off the wall, but still he wasn't free. All he could do was lash out words to attempt to draw the older Uchiha's attention toward him._

"_This is only between us; Sakura has nothing to do with it!"_

_The older Uchiha continued to ignore the pleas from the pink haired woman and the yelling from his own blood related brother. Itachi finished entertaining himself with Sakura's breasts and sat up, licking the blood left on his lips. He stood up from the bed and removed the Akatsuki cloak. His eyes were fixed upon the tearing goddess tied to the bed as he removed the rest of his clothing._

_He kept tugging harder and harder on the chains that secure him away from killing the man in front of him. He kept yelling out at Itachi to make him stop the mental and physical torture he was putting his wife through._

_She kept her eyes focused on her raven haired lover as she whimpered and pleaded to the man that was about to have his way with her._

_Once again her chin was grabbed harshly and her lips forcefully push in for another rough meaningless kiss. Yet again, she resisted; she would only give in to only one man, but he was being tortured mentally just watching what she was going through with his own eyes._

"_Itachi get away from her! Sakura has gone through enough already!"_

_Itachi moved to position himself at her entrance, ignoring the shouts from his little brother. She tried to keep her legs close, not wanting him to enter, but he spread her legs apart and held them open until he was positioned at her core._

_The moment the kiss was broken, did trust straight into her. Sakura screamed out in pain as she struggled to pull away. She felt pain over her entire body; no pleasure or bliss. Her tears seemed like they would never stop flowing; it was an endless river of angst._

_Itachi held on to the girl's hips to keep her from moving and began to trust into her violently. Each time he drove into her, she would yell in pain._

"_Stop! It hurts!" she cried out. "Stop!"_

_He kept on tugging on the chain and felt it begin to loosen from the wall. He gritted his teeth and pulled with all his strength. His eyes kept going back and forth from the wall to what was happening in front of him._

_Suddenly her shouts and cries stopped. He quickly shifted his head over toward the bed and saw his wife unconscious, the sheets underneath her beginning to absorb blood. Itachi didn't care and kept thrusting into her violently until he finally reached his limit._

_The chains were loosening, but he still wasn't free. When he saw his brother removing himself from the unconscious cherry blossom, he pulled again on the chain. He wanted to kill him, rip him to pieces, and torture him._

"_Did you enjoy the show otouto?" Itachi asked as he dressed himself._

_He gritted his teeth and with one last forceful jerk, the chains broke off from the wall. Not caring how his own condition was, he charged at the Akatsuki member._

"_DIE ITACHI!"_

* * *

Sasuke sat up admittedly, panting heavily, beads of sweet rolled down his forehead. The bandage around his forehead was gathering his sweat. Some of his bangs were coving his sweaty face. He ran his hand back through his hair making the strands more away from his view. Everything he saw seemed so real, yet it wasn't.

He looked around his surrounding and noticed he was back in the room. All he remembered was blacking out when his summoning Riku was bringing him back toward the abandoned town.

His right hand reached up and wiped the sweat upon his forehead. He noticed his wounds were healed and bandage. He was dressed only in his boxers and a warm robe.

'_Sakura must have done this.'_

He turned to look at his wife only to see an empty spot where she was suppose to sleep at. Sasuke looked around the room and searched for her chakra, but she wasn't anywhere in the room. Sakura's belongs were still in the room; her backpack, weapons, and clothing.

"Sakura," he called out, but there was no answer.

He had a bad feeling something happened to her. Itachi knew of the cat elder's base, but the changes of him coming anywhere near the place was slim. Knowing Itachi, he was difficult to read and always had tricks up his sleeve.

"Sakura," he called out again.

Again there was no answer. He clenched his fist tightly, could Itachi really have kidnapped her? There was no way he was going to let Itachi torture or taint his cherry blossom. He saw a tray of food by the bed that was hot, meaning his wife hadn't been gone for every long. He turned the window and noticed it was late morning. Itachi wouldn't be moving much in the day light and if she was taken by the older Uchiha, there was a chance of him being able to catch up.

Sasuke stood from the bed, despite the soreness he felt in his muscles. He hurried over to the dresser and pulled out a pair of pants and a white haori to change into. He quickly slipped into his sandals and took Kusanagi with him to search for the pink haired kunoichi. He swung open the door only to see his wife standing in front with a few bandages in her hand, about to open the door.

She had a confused surprised facial expression when she looked up to see Sasuke there. She was wearing her normal ninja outfit, but instead of her red shirt, she was wearing the pink kimono top.

"Sasuke-kun," she said. "You shouldn't be up in your condition." Sakura walked in and gave her husband a slight push. "You need to rest more."

The moment the door closed, Sasuke tugged the woman into his arms and held on to her tightly. She ended up dropping the bandages on the ground and was bewildered by her husband's action. He didn't lose her; she was still here with him. The young Uchiha relaxed a bit knowing that his wife was safe for now.

"Daijoubu Sasuke-kun?" her soft voice asked running her hand through his hair.

He said nothing and held on to her. Sasuke took in her sweet scent he tainted to mark her as his own. He slowly pulled away from her and looked deep into her sparking emerald orbs. She smiled at him and kissed him on the lip. Sakura then led him over to the bed and sat him down. She sat down behind him massaging his tense shoulders a bit.

"I'm going to look over your wounds." He just nodded slightly as let her slid the white haori off him. "Just relax."

Her hands began to glow green with chakra after she placed her hand on his shoulders. Sasuke felt her warm chakra running through his body as Sakura did her job.

Things were very unusual to Sakura as she examined his body. His wounds were completely healed when they weren't supposed to be for another day. She had only healed him enough so that his body could do the rest of the healing, but his body healed too fast to be considered normal. Yes she knew Naruto was a fast healer, but that was because of the Kyuubi. Sasuke on the other hand doesn't have a demon seal in him and should heal like any other human being.

"This is strange," Sakura said, ceasing the chakra in her hand. "You healing ability are faster than what it should be. The bandages can be removed now if you want."

"It must be the white snake's power…" he said in low voice.

Sakura moved so that she sat in front on her husband, looking deep into his eyes. "What are you talking about Sasuke-kun?" she asked in a confused worried voice.

"When I killed Orochimaru, I absorbed his abilities, one of which must have increased my healing abilities."

Her hand reached up and cupped his cheeks, rubbing her thumb against his skin. The young Uchiha noticed her biting her lower lip her eyes slightly sadden. Right away Sasuke knew what was haunting her mind: Orochimaru.

Sasuke held onto her hands and said, "He's dead and nowhere near us."

"But he was going to…he wanted…"

"Sakura you don't have to worry about it," his voice showed hit of anger as he spoke, his eyes slightly narrowed. "He didn't take over my body and he won't come after us. Orochimaru is dead."

She was a bit startled by his sudden change in attitude. Moments ago, he was holding on to her like they haven't seen each in so long and now he was slightly bitter toward her. There was something bothering him and she knew it. Questioning him about it could possibly throw him over the edge so she decided to forget about it.

"You must be starving since you didn't eat anything yesterday." Sakura pulled away from him and smiled a small smile. She brought the tray of food in front of him. "These are some things I prepared for you. If it tastes bad or anything, you don't have to eat it."

He didn't say to her. She pecked him lightly on his cheek and went into the bathroom. The moment the closed the door, she leaned against it, her left hand reached up to massage her temples.

Since she woke up in the morning, she hadn't been feeling very well. She felt dizzy when she woke up and thought it was because she didn't get a good night's sleep after spending the night worrying about so many things. She was use to not getting enough sleep before when she worked in the hospital at Konoha, but turning out to have a headache the next day was odd. She let chakra flow into her hand and eased the ache in her head as she continued to massage her temples.

'_What could be wrong with me?' _Sakura thought to herself. _'I've been in perfect health, I haven't missed…'_ Sakura eyes widen. _'I…I couldn't have…'_

Sakura was panicking slightly. She was careless; she didn't pay attention to her body's condition after having sex several times with Sasuke.

"_**You have,"**_ her inner said. _**"And being a medic, you know what it could mean."**_

'_I know, but it could be due to stress. Also when I got the curse seal, it could have altered my body's chemicals.'_

'_**Think about it, the chances of that one reason being the most likely cause is very high at the moment."**_

_Sakura touched her lower abdomen. 'But for it to happen at a time like this…it's…it can't be true…'_

'_**It's a possibility though.'**_

Those last words her inner ego said to her played in her head; it was a possibility. She would have to monitor herself closely and watch her health until she could confirm it. Even if it was true, she wouldn't be able to tell for sure until she was about two to three weeks in, when the embryo is sure to be presence. Sakura hugged her body and tears gathering in her eyes; for things to happen at a time like this was just hard to deal with.

Sasuke was slowly eating his breakfast Sakura had cooked for him. It was delicious he had to admit, but his mind was so focus on what he saw in the dream. It bothered him to no end and to see his wife rape by the person he detest his entire life. The images were just beyond painful as they kept play over in his mind; her begging cries of pain always called out for him.

His muscles were sore and his body needed a full days rest if he wanted to recuperate fully, but he wanted to train. He wasn't going to sit around to rest, he wanted to go out and train and try to get his mind off the images from the dream. He had another reason to protect his cherry blossom.

He placed the tray on the desk, put the white haori back on, grabbed Kusanagi and went over to the balcony window. He heard the bathroom door open, but didn't stop to tell her where he was going. Sasuke slid open the window and was about to step out, but someone's voice stopped him.

"Where are you going Sasuke-kun?"

He turned around to see his wife standing there with her hands over her heart, her face written with worry. He noticed her eyes were slightly puffy and knew she must have cried over something when she was alone.

"I'm going out to train," he answered a bit coldly to her.

He turned around to exit out, but yet again he was stopped.

"You haven't fully recovered yet," she argued. "Your body still needs to recover from the strain it went through yesterday."

"My body has fully healed already," he said slightly bitter toward her.

"But-"

Sasuke cut her off. "Sakura I need to train. There isn't much time left for me to get stronger."

"Onegai Sasuke-kun, don't go," she begged. Tears were beginning to slide down her cheeks. "I don't want to lose you."

He sighed and said, "Nothing's going to happen to me Sakura."

"But yesterday…you were…if I wasn't here…onegai, Sasuke-kun, just for today," she said between her quiet sobs.

"Sakura I have to go train. I'm not going to lose to Itachi when the time comes."

Sasuke stepped out only to hear her call out his name faintly. He stopped, knowing that he had probably made her cry. He turned around and saw she was falling backwards. The Uchiha rushed in and caught his wife before she hit the ground.

'_Sakura wasn't feeling well and didn't just tell me.'_

'_**Maybe she didn't want to tell you directly knowing you would want to go out and train.'**_

'_But she wanted me to stay.'_

She looked clam yet worry at the same time. Loses tears slid down the corn of her eyes and onto his sleeve.

Sasuke was beginning to regret not listening to his wife. She had cared for him in so many ways while he had acted unfair toward her. He was responsible for most of the pain he has caused her, but has never done anything to comfort her.

He carried her up bridal style and walked over to the bed. He laid her down gently, removed her sandals, pouch, and holsters. He then removed the kimono top and the skirt around her shorts, leaving her in a tank top and shorts. Sasuke then pulled the covers over her body to keep her warm.

'_I should try to get some train done now.'_

The male Uchiha turned around to walk away, but found the pink haired goddess holding on the right sleeve of the haori. Sakura was gripping on to it tightly and wasn't going to let go. She really did want him to stay. With no other choice, he decided to join her in bed. He may as well spend a much time as he could with her.

He pulled out Kusanagi and placed it down on the ground. Sasuke kicked off his slippers and removed the haori. He crawled in right next to her and wrapped his arms around her petite figure, pulling her close to him. He held on to her and let sleep overcome him.

* * *

The early evening sky in Konoha was covered with clouds. Nothing seemed to be different around the village, expect for the fact that team seven is looked at differently.

Tsunade sat in her office looking over two important records. She wanted to fine something that could really help Sasuke and Sakura. Just trying to think up something wasn't any good; the elders would find a way to break it.

'_Damn it all!'_

Tsunade dropped the file down on her desk. Their files just covered the basic stuff; birth, academy entry and graduation, experience as a genin, mission reports, and team information. She couldn't find anything that was worth looking more into; there weren't even any notes on the side that would indicate something of importance.

"Tsunade-sama," Shizune said as she entered. "You need to rest."

"I know, I know." The Hokage sat back in her chair and rubbed her temples. "I have been doing this since the morning. I've gone through almost every file and still nothing."

The older apprentice placed a cup of tea in front of the blond. "I brought the last two files for you Tsunade-sama." She set the two files down and gathered the two the Godaime had just finished looking over. "I'll put these back in your room and please do relax yourself after this."

The blond nodded and as her assistant left the room. These last two files were her only hope now; if they didn't have anything of use, the two she was trying to save may not have a chance.

The Godaime was about to open the first file, but a noise at her window caught her attention. She turned her chair around to see a small paper bird outside. Tsunade got out of her chair and opened the window for the paper bird to enter. It landed on her hand before the jutsu worn off and the paper turned back to its normal shape.

'_It must be from Sasuke,' _Tsunade thought. _'He must have found out more information about the Akatsuki."_

The Godaime quickly unfolded the letter and noticed that the writing looked very familiar. When she realized whose writing it was, she was over joy.

_Shishou,_

_It's been so long since we last saw each other and was actually able to talk to one another face to face. I miss you very much and wish I was back in the village. I know you're worried, but you needn't have to worry about me, I'm perfectly fine._

Tsunade smiled a sad smile; even though Sakura said she was fine, she knew it wasn't really true. Physically she would be in perfect health, but mentally was another story. The cherry blossom of team seven was strong on the outside, but fragile on the inside. Sakura never wanted to be the main focus of people's worries and began to keep many things bottled up. Knowing Sakura, everyone else comes first before herself.

_Just recently, Sasuke-kun and I were married; I've became the new Uchiha matriarch. A really close friend to the Uchiha Clan preformed the marriage ceremony for us…I really wished you were there to witness it. I wanted you, Shizune-san, Kakashi-sensei, and Naruto to be there, to watch us; the four of you were always there for me no matter what._

Tsunade bit down on her lower lips, trying to hold back her tears. She smiled, knowing the girl she saw as a daughter was really growing up into a woman.

_You must already know that Sasuke-kun is going to fight his brother very soon. I'm still standing strong and you don't have to worry about me. I'm doing all I can for him until the day comes. The most important thing to me is that I try to make as many happy memories as I can with him if things don't turn out as we hope._

_Hope Naruto is taking care of himself because he's in more danger now. It's not just the Akatsuki that's after him anymore. Naruto, Sasuke-kun, and I each have bounties; we're all wanted ninjas now. Not too long ago, Sasuke-kun and I were pursued by a group of ninjas when we were in a town._

_I'll try to write to you as much as I can until we must leave to find Itachi. There's so much I want to tell you, but time is really against us all._

_Uchiha Sakura_

Tsunade let a signal tear slip down her cheek; time really was against them. Now there was more to add on to her worries, their bounties. Just when she thought he had enough on her hands, the pressure on her builds up; first it was the charges the elders would charge them with and now bounties.

The first female Hokage of Konoha opened her drawer and took out a sake bottle. She needed to spend a tiny moment to clear her mind. Things were defiantly become a pain. How in the world was she going to help them now?

She drank a bit of her sake then leaded back into her chair with her eyes closed. Suddenly she realized something, Root. If Sasuke and Sakura had bounties, the Root ANBU would be the first to attack them the moment they enter the village. Root's main goal was to annihilate all threats to Konoha, despite what others think. The chances of them knowing about the bounties were very high if Sakura knew already.

"SHIZUNE!"

* * *

Sasuke awoken and noticed it was early in the evening. He didn't get much out of the nap for the disturbing images kept coming back into mind. He would open is eyes once in a while to check if he was still holding onto his cherry blossom. He tilted his head down to look at the pink haired goddess in his arms still sounded asleep. He watched her breath smoothly, taking in every breath and exhaling it out. Only when asleep would she look at peace at a time like this. The male Uchiha kissed her forehead and slowly moved away from his sleeping wife.

He noticed a stench coming from his body and needed to take a shower since he didn't take after several events; his night with Sakura then straight to training. Sasuke looked back at her sleeping form then walked into the bathroom to take a long refreshing shower.

He flipped the switch and the small light on the ceiling lit the room. Turning on the shower to let the water run for it to change to the right temperature, Sasuke stripped down all this clothing. He removed all the bandages and tossed them all into a pile in a corner to be disposed of later. He examined his body and noticed there weren't any scars left on his body, just small scratches that would vanish within a couple of days. Even some old scars he use to have had been removed by Sakura and reduced to small red marks that would also vanish within a couple of days.

When the water was to his liking, the male Uchiha stepped in to let the droplets pour down on his body. He closed his eyes and looked up to the pouring water, letting it splash down on his face and damping his raven hair. He hoped the shower would relax him and draw him mind away from unneeded thoughts.

'_Help me Sasuke-kun.'_

His eyes snapped opened immediately only to realize he was still in the showers. It was another trick his mind was playing on him.

"Damn it!" he cursed as he punched the shower wall with his right fist.

He withdrew his fist from the slight dent he made. A bruise was beginning to form around his knuckles, but he didn't care at the moment. He ran his right hand through his wet hair.

'_Why are all these dreams involving Sakura?'_ he thought. _'What are the dreams trying to tell me?'_

He placed his hands on the wall in front of him, his head casted down with his eyes closed. Sasuke let the water run down from his body. He really needed to relax and get all those horrible images of out of his head if he wanted to be able to remain sane.

'_Nothing is going to happen to her,'_ he thought to himself.

He ran his hands through his hair; he only needed to bare it a bit longer. Hopefully afterwards, life for him will turn out for the better.

Sakura began to stir after feeling a source of warmth missing. She opens her eyes to look out the window only to see that the sun was beginning to set. She immediately sat up and looked around the room for her husband. She noticed his things were still in the room, but he was nowhere in sight.

"Sasuke-kun…" she called out.

She didn't hear an answer and tried to find his chakra presence. It was difficult for her to do so; she couldn't concentrate properly with all the worries going through her mind. She lit the candle by the bed to illuminate the room a bit, but still the raven haired shinobi was nowhere in sight.

This wasn't good; Sakura was beginning to panic inwardly. She was frightened and worried, Sasuke was nowhere around. If she really was pregnant, then she would have to go through it alone. Tears were beginning to gather in her eyes; she didn't want to be alone or raise their child all on her own. She brought her knees up to her chest and hugged her body, sobbing as quietly as she could to herself.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear the showers on. She kept wiping her falling tears only to have them replaced by new ones. She wanted to splash some water on her face to calm herself, she needed to stay strong not just for herself, but for the possible child growing in her.

As she neared the bathroom doors, she heard water running. She took in a deep breath and tried to sense her husband's chakra again. When she was aware of his presence, she was relived knowing he hadn't left her. Sakura was just scared, not wanting her lover to leave her side.

Sakura entered the steaming room and stripped down all articles of clothing on her. She walked toward the open shower and saw Sasuke standing in front of the pouring water, letting it rain down on his body.

"Sasuke-kun…"

The said person turned his attention to where the voice came from and saw his wife standing there, naked. Her hands were placed over her heart and he noticed her eyes were slightly puffy, her face stained with her tears.

His left arm reached out for her, telling her that it was alright for her to join him if she wanted. The pink haired kunoichi took his hand and let her husband pull her into the pouring water. He stood back a bit and let the water splash and run down her body. She kept her gaze away from his eyes, afraid that something bad was going to erupt between them. Sasuke didn't want to distance himself away from her and thought that he would make the best of his time with her.

He cupped her cheeks, tilting her head up to meet his gaze, and ran his thumb over her smooth ivory skin. She looked sadden by something and he knew that it had to do with him. He ran his hands down her neck and shoulder to her waist.

"Gomen…" she whispered, leaning into his body.

She turned her glaze away, placing her head against his chest with her hand still placed over her heart. He didn't understand why she was apologizing. Sasuke would ask, but he didn't want to cause more problems between them. He said nothing and stared down at her.

"I just didn't want to be alone…"

His left hand reached up and tilted her head up so that they looked face to face. His stoic face remained the same as he looked down into her emerald eyes. The water around her face made her skin glow and her eyes stand out. She was beautiful to him in every way.

Sasuke's half lidded eyes looked down at her as he leaned his head down and pressed his lips against hers. His arms snaked around her petite body, holding her close to him as he deepened the kiss. Her hands slowly made their way up his chest and around his neck, pulling him closer to him. Few loose tears around her eyes streamed down her cheeks along with the pouring water from the shower as she leaned in to return the kiss with equal passion.

His tongue nudged her lips apart, forcing his tongue into her mouth. She granted his invading tongue entrance and let him ravage the hollow cavity of her mouth, tasting and licking every corner of it. Sasuke held her very close that her body was pressed up against his.

He broke their lip contact and trailed small bite marks and kisses along her chin and jaw to her neck. He marked her all over and would kiss the jewel around her neck each time he passed it. Low moans escaped her lips as she tilted her head back to give him more access.

Sasuke's fingers ran along her body and down to her thighs. His head came back up and claimed her lips for another rough loving kiss. He gripped her thighs firmly and lifted her up until her face was leveled with his. Sasuke slid her legs around his waist then draped one arm under her buttock and the other around her lower back to support her.

Their hair was beginning to stick to their faces, but they didn't care. The young married couple kept kissing under the shower without breaking.

"…Sasuke-kun…I can't…breathe…" she said between kisses, her breath lacking air.

"Then don't…" was his response to her as he continued to kiss her.

Their lips never parted from each other for more than five seconds. Finally after five long minutes, they stopped.

Sakura laid her head on his right shoulder, her arms draped around him still. They gasped from the lack of air, their body trying to gain back all the lost of breaths. She felt him release his hold on her to put her down and she complied, her body still pressed against his. With his right arms still around her body, his free hand reached out and turned off the water. He then pulled her away from the shower and out of the bathroom without even drying themselves.

Sasuke didn't care whether they were dried or not, all he wanted now was to make up for what he had done to her. He wanted her so much.

She said nothing to complain and let her husband lead her out, both dripping wet. He laid her down on the bed and began to trail kisses and bite marks on her wet flat abdomen.

He reached the valley between her breasts and gave her a long slow lick. Sakura grasped the sheets below her and moaned loudly; she could feel herself becoming wet between her legs and it wasn't from the shower she had just taken. When his head was leveled above hers, he stared down at her, his face emotionless, but his eyes were written with emotions. His left arm supported his weight above her, his right hand on her waist.

Her hands reached up and stroked back his damp hair back, away from his face. She lifted her head up and pushed her lips against his. Sasuke returned the kiss right away and leaned in to let her head rest back down on the bed. His free hand stroked her sides, earning him a few moans from the pink haired goddess under him.

She broke the kiss for air as her husband kisses down to her chest. When he reached her breasts, he circled his tongue around the sphere of her left nipple then sucked on it hungrily like a newborn demanding milk from its mother. Her neglected breast was being massaged by his right hand, flicking her nipple every once in a while. Her moans were music to his ears; he would never get tired of it as long as he lived. He switched to give her other breast fair treatment, earning more loud moans from her.

Sakura's fingers were tangled up in his raven hair, massaging his scalp and encouraging him to go on. She didn't care at the moment that they might get sick from not drying their selves; all he wanted was to be with her dark shinobi.

When he was done entertaining himself with her breasts, he began to trail more kisses along her body. He licked her navel then sucked on the skin around it, leaving his dark mark on her. After leaving a mark, he moved to his face was leveled his hers and positioned himself at her wet entrance.

His blank face stared down at her loving face, making sure that she was alright. It was like they were making love for the first time again. Small amounts of tears were beginning to gather in her eyes as she ran her hand along his head, neck, and shoulders. A few lose tears fell from her eyes and she nodded slightly, signaling her lover to let him continue.

Sasuke leaned in and claimed her lips harshly yet passionately. He swiftly thrust into her core and felt her clench his hair at the slight pain she felt. The young shinobi kissed the corner of her lips then lifted himself up slightly, pulling out half way.

The goddess underneath him gave him a small smile, her face flushed, her half lidded emerald eyes glowing bright from the flame of the candle. He thrust straight into her soaking core, earning a loud moan from the woman as she ranked her fingers into his body.

"Ah…" He pulled out and thrust back into her again. "…Sasuke-kun…"

He was being gentle with her, not wanting the images of what happened to her to actually become reality on his account. He felt as if she would fade away when he least expected it, leaving him alone in the world.

She noticed he wasn't the same tonight and knew something involving her must he bothering him. Not wanting to ruin the moment, she decided to let it pass and tell her husband everything was alright.

"Onegai…Sasuke-kun…" she begged. "…don't…hold…back…" she said between breaths.

"Aa…"

He pulled back out almost all the way and plunged back into her harder. She arched her back in sheer bliss, moaning out loudly. Sasuke thrust into her in a slow manner then began to quicken his pace as she requested for more. He did as asked and his thrust become harder and faster.

The horrible images in his mind began to vanish as he made love to the goddess he called his wife. The dreams may try to break him, but he knew she would always be there for him.

"…Sakura…" he breathed out as he continued.

Her slender fingers dung into his body, leaving her nail imprint on him temporarily. Sweat dripped down their bodies and onto the sheets below them. His right hand wrapped around her waist and drew her up slightly. Their lips met for a brief moment before he trailed over to her left ear.

She heard him whisper something incoherent to her, but her mind was completely lost for that moment she orgasm. With one more thrust into her soaking core, the male Uchiha reached his own climax and spilled his seeds into her.

He pulled out of her to move onto the bed to sleep, but Sakura didn't want him to move away. She was afraid that he would leave. He pulled that large blanket over them then wrapped an arm around her body and moved so his body wasn't going to squish her and make her feel uncomfortable. He laid his head on the junction between her neck and shoulder, settling into her embrace. He could smell her tainted scent he had help create. Her left hand was around his neck and her right was on his back.

He whispered something softly to her before closing his eyes and let sleep over come him. Sakura laid her, unable to take in the words he just said. The incoherent words he had whispered early to her sound similar to what he had just said to her.

'_Did he just say those words to me?'_

She tilted her head slight down to the left to look down at the raven haired man that slept lying against her. She was scared and worried; she really wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. Would that really be possible for them? Could they really start a family and live happily ever after?

She ran her hands though his now dried hair. He was at peace when asleep, but she knew it wouldn't last very long. She couldn't help but wonder if there would ever be a time where things were calm and they could actually have a normal day for once.

Her mind then wondered to the idea that she could be pregnant. What if there really was a baby around, their own child they gave life to there with them. Sasuke's own sleepy face reminded her of a young child's face when fast asleep. She could picture a little boy that looked exactly like Sasuke, except maybe the hair and the eyes. There was a change he would turn out to have her emerald green eyes. What if they had a son and he turned out to have pink hair? That would be horrible, but the chances of that happening were very slim. A daughter would be nice too; a little girl that could look like either of them, most likely like Sakura having either dark raven hair or pink hair. Her large eyes would be written with her innocence just like her mother.

She smiled at the thought. Sakura kissed him lightly on his forehead then settled into the bed and let sleep overcome her.

* * *

Special appreciation to my great fanfic buddy: **animequeen100**. She helped me with this chapter and I recommend that you go check out her fanfic.

**Hey there readers. Thank you too all of those that reviewed. Sorry for not updating in a while. This my longest chapter so far and it's only going to get longer because of late updates. Because school is getting in the way, I try to do my best to update within two months. Also Chinese New Year's is coming up and I'll be totally busy then, but I'll do my best to try write and update in time. I have many things planned for the upcoming chapters so I hope I still have everyone's interest and support. If there are questions or anything, don't hesitate to ask.**

**To Shikamaru and Neji fans reading this fanfic, they will be showing up more in the fanfic because of important events that are going to occur. The extermination of Akatsuki will be coming up very soon. The 'he' is Itachi is referring to plays an important role and is also a lovable character. Sasuke's dream was so hard to write and sort of painful. I was trying to show the dream as if it was mostly seen though the dreamer's eyes. I hope no one got confused while reading that scene. I thought the letter I has Sakura write to Tsunade was sort of plain.**

**To those that do reread previous chapters, you may have noticed some change/addition to the previous chapters. Not worries, I just read through it and found some mistakes and stuff and went back to correct it a bit. The plot won't change at all.**

**If you haven't yet, please read my SASUSAKU one shot **Last Day in the Office**, and the sequel to it** A Special Gift**. That is all for now until next chapter.**

**IMPORTANT AUTHOR NOTE!!**

**Review voting!! If you review, please VOTE either:**

Yes, you want Sakura pregnant in this fanfic **OR** No, you don't want Sakura pregnant in this fanfic

Your opinions matter and will affect the outcome of the fanfic, so please review with your votes! Virtual treats for all!


	25. Chap 25: Important Decisions

**Hey there reader! Please do me a HUGE favor and READ the important author note at the end of this chapter. ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this fanfic.**

* * *

Chapter 25: Important Decisions 

The Hokage stared out into the calm dark sky through the window of her bedroom. She sat by the window sill that looked out into the view of the village, watching the sunset that was now over. Tsunade was forced to rest by her assistant because she hadn't taken a break since she got up in the morning to start finding ways to get around the elders' defense.

The entire day was stressful for her and just drinking sake wasn't any good. That wasn't the only thing on her mind; she had a constant worry growing every moment that passed. She kept on her toes at all times, fearing that Jiraiya would send one of his toads at any moment even though the man had only been gone for one day. Being the Hokage right now was horrible; there was just too much on her mind.

She looked at the two files she had laying out by her bed. Those two really were something special. She thought back to the conversation she had with Shizune.

* * *

"_SHIZUNE!"_

_The said person came rushed toward the office the moment she heard her named yelled out by Tsunade. She had just returned the files she had with her back to Tsunade's room and was going to head over to the hospital. She knew something was wrong or the Hokage wouldn't be shouting her name out so loudly. When she reached the office doors, she looked in to see what the Hokage needed._

"_Get in here now and lock the doors."_

_She did as she was ordered to do without questioning. She watched her former teacher close the windows and pull the curtains over the window before returning back to her seat. The room was dark and secluded, but there was a reasonable reason for it. Shizune could tell something was wrong and it was private matters no one else knew about._

"_What so we know about the ANBU group Root so far?" the blond asked seriously._

"_Not much Tsunade-sama. It has been difficult to get information on them lately," she answered in a sad tone. "Our only options to get more information to have the head ANBU leaders get it for us."_

_The Hokage shook her head. "We can't do that. The elders will suspect something is going on."_

_Shizune was confused. Why would the Hokage be asking about Root all so suddenly? She knew that Tsunade had been keeping a lookout for the group, but nothing had come up recently, at least to her knowledge. Then again, Root was a group of ANBU ninjas that opposed the Sandaime Hokage and still do disagree with the views of the Hokage. The only people that did give them support were the elders._

"_What's going on Tsunade-sama?" the brunette asked. "Root hasn't been active for a while and I don't think there's anything we have to worry about at this moment."_

_The blond held out the letter in her hand to her assistant. "Read this and you'll understand why I'm asking about Root."_

_Shizune took the letter to read over it. When she noticed that it was written by Sakura, she was happy to know that the girl was doing alright. She kept on reading until she got to the part about the bounties, her facial expression turned to that of worry._

"_They each have bounties…. Are you saying that Root might be after them?"_

_She received a nod from the woman in front of her. "Unfortunately for us, Root isn't under my command so I can't monitor them as closely as I want." The Hokage sighed. "I need to get that file of targets they have. That is the only way for us to know who they have their eyes on."_

"_But the only ninjas we can rely on to get the files aren't here in the village."_

"_I know that, but I don't want to draw anyone in that can become a huge problem." Tsunade rubbed her temples. "They won't go after Naruto as long as he's still a part of the village."_

"_But Sasuke and Sakura…"_

"_Yes I know. I have only three people in mind for this, but I'm still unsure whether or not it would be a good idea to involve them. Sakura wanted to keep this among us four, but I don't think that's going to be possible."_

"_We can send a message out to have Kakashi-san and Naruto-kun to come back right away."_

"_No. The elders will become suspicious at their sudden return when I had a false B-ranked mission written out for them."_

"_Then send me and my team out in search of Sasuke and Sakura. I can inform-"_

"_Shizune that won't work," the Godaime said, cutting her off. "The elders will hand select two ninjas to replace two ninjas on your team. There's a high chance that they will be from Root."_

"_What can we do then?"_

_The Godaime didn't answer the question and drain down one bottle of sake. Things were just becoming a pain and stress was sure to build. She pulled out another bottle of sake and drank it down quickly._

"_You shouldn't drink too much at a time like this Tsunade-sama," Shizune said. "You need to go rest early. We can think up more alterative tomorrow."_

"_Not yet. I won't until I figure out what we're going to do."_

_Shizune closed the files and set everything aside that was in front of the Hokage. "Tsunade-sama, you need to rest. We still have time to think up something. I know you're also worried about Jiraiya-sama."_

"_That ass is going straight into Akatsuki territory without thinking up a plan. And know him, he will end up forgetting the warning I gave him."_

"_Tsunade-sama, you're over thinking too much. Jiraiya-sama knows what he is going. Please go rest up."_

_The blond signed and rose from her seat. "Send out a message to Mitarashi Anko, Yamato, and Shiranui Genma to come into my office first thing in the morning," she said as she headed toward the office doors._

"_Hai," the brunet said. "I shall have that done right away."_

_Tsunade opened the door and right before walking out the door, the Godaime said, "Deliver the message to them personally Shizune."_

"_Hai, Tsunade-sama."_

* * *

Tsunade retreated to her bed; she really did need to rest. The meeting she had in the morning was important and it would be best if she got a good night's rest. All she hoped was that things she had planned would turn out alright. 

—xXx—

Shizune had just passed on the message to meet Tsunade in her office to Yamato. She had spotted him by the ramen stand and given the Hokage's order without any questioning from him. The Hokage's assistant found Anko at one of her favorite small restaurant eating. The only person left was her teammate, Shiranui Genma.

She didn't know too much about Genma, even though they were teammates. What she did know was the Genma was a special jounin and was a good friend of Kakashi's. Not too long ago, Kakashi and Genma moved into to an apartment in the ninja compound that was big enough to house the entire team seven if necessary. It was considered much cheaper than renting an apartment individually. The special jounin had also gone on a four man cell mission a few times with Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura. After those missions, Genma had become close to the two youngsters on the team and treated Sakura like a little sister.

She reached the ninja compound and leaped up to the second floor. She stood in front of the door and knocked.

"Just a second," a voice said from inside.

The door opened and revealed a handsome young man in his late twenties to early thirties. He was wearing the jounin outfit, minus the vest and the sweater. The sleeveless shirt he was wearing was gathering up sweat for he was just working out. The male had a senbon needed handing out of his mouth and his navy blue bandanna with the Leaf symbol on it over his head.

"Shizune," Genma greeted, nodding his head slightly. "What bring you here and at his hour?"

"I'm here to deliver a message to you from the Godaime herself," she answered. "Please meet her tomorrow first thing in the morning about something important."

The male nodded, understanding that he had something important to do. Shizune turned around to leave, but was stopped when her wrist was grabbed. She turned around and faced the special jounin.

"Gomen," he apologized and freed his grasp. "Do you mind telling me what's been going on with Kakashi and Naruto? I can tell you're involved somehow and the Godaime too. Those two have been acting strange lately and left a few days ago on a two man cell mission."

It was understandable the Genma would ask such a question, he was a special jounin after all and he would notice changes in a person instantly.

"Gomen Genma, but I am in no position to tell you anything," Shizune said, casting her gaze down to the ground. She felt somewhat guilty; Genma was close to team seven and a really good teammate of hers. "If I do tell you, it will only cause trouble. There's a change you may find out tomorrow though."

"I understand," Genma said. "Well then, I'll see you tomorrow in the Hokage's office."

"Hai," Shizune said before she leaped off and headed back to the Hokage's mansion.

* * *

Not too far from the Village hidden in the Leaves, two Konoha ninja rested in the local inn they had rented a room at. The blond hyperactive ninja lay on his bed, his arms and legs all spread out as he stared up at the ceiling. His white haired sensei had his face hidden behind the one book he would never get tired of. 

"Don't you get bored reading those books all the time sensei?" the blond asked.

The jounin chuckled. "If you'd like Naruto, you can read it too. I have the first book in my backpack."

Naruto groaned, annoyed that his sensei couldn't think of something else for him to do. He kept looking up at the ceiling until he remembered something; Kakashi's sensei was the Yondaime Hokage. Naruto thought he could get some information about the young Hokage so to use it as advice.

"Oy, sensei," the blond called out. "What was the Yondaime like as your sensei?"

"Well he wasn't any different from me or you," Kakashi said. "Actually he was the one that got me into reading these." The older ninja tilted the book slightly too indicate he was talking about the very novel he was reading.

Naruto's eyes widened. "No way in hell was the Yondaime a closet pervert like you Kakashi-sensei." The boy sat up and stared at his sensei. "He was the freaking Yondaime, responsible and strong." Kakashi tuned his head slightly and looked at his student. "There was no way in hell the Yondaime had time to read those horrible written books and be a closet pervert then suddenly become Hokage."

Yes, it was hard to believe, but it was partly true. How a person can change during the course of the years is a mystery.

The silver haired man chuckled. "Believe what you want Naruto," Kakashi said. "Take my advice, there is always one student that takes after their sensei when they become a team."

"Sensei, there is no way teme or Sakura-chan would turn out like you," the blond said in a bored tone. "Sakura-chan is a girl and teme lacks emotions, he's always so serious." The blond then pointed to himself. "And I'm defiantly not like you; I have my dreams of becoming Hokage!" Naruto then placed his right thumb and index finger under his chin. "Even though he hasn't been on the team for very long, there is a change that Sai-teme would turn into a closet pervert like you."

"Make all the assumption you want Naruto, but remember what I just said to you. There is bound to be one student that turns out to be almost like their sensei."

"Alright, alright, I get it," the blond said, getting annoyed. "What about the Yondaime's jutsus? I know there's the Rasengan, what other jutsus did he use? What about weapons?"

"One question at a time Naruto," the man said. He reached into his pouch and took out a three pointed kunai knife with some sort of paper wrapped around the handle. "This here is one of the many special kunais that the Yondaime used. I received this one as a gift from him when I was promoted to jounin."

The young man's bright blue eyes stared at the kunai in awe. "Can I have it sensei?"

"No," the sliver haired man answered as he placed the kunai back in his pouch. "During the time the Yondaime was my mentor, a war was going on." Naruto sat up straight, wanting to hear more of what his closet pervert of a sensei had to say. "He was known as Konoha's Yellow Flash because of his special Shunshin no Jutsu."

Naruto stared at the silver haired man in total awe. "Explain it to me Kakashi-sensei."

The jounin sighed and closed his book. "Shunshin no Jutsu is also known as the Body Flicker Jutsu." Naruto nodded his head, stating he understood and wanted the man to continue. "That jutsu in particular needed stealth and speed, without it, the jutsu wouldn't be special. Because the jutsu was so efficient, my sensei was feared because of it."

"Ooo….How did it work Kakashi-sensei?" the boy asked eagerly. "Was the Yondaime really that scary?"

The older man sighed. "His speed was something you would never think possible, but what made him so great was his stealth. If he were to take off his pack and place it down on the ground, he would reappear behind you with a kunai at your throat the moment the pack hits the ground."

"He was that fast?" Naruto yelled out. "Impossible!"

The sliver haired man nodded. "You wouldn't be able to follow his movements and only see a blur of yellow right before you realized you were caught. Hence he got the name Yellow Flash."

"Wow…Has anyone else mastered that Shunshin no Jutsu? What about you Kakashi-sensei. Maybe I can master it since I know the Yondaime's Rasengan. I mastered that technique real quick; faster than it took the Yondaime to create it. I'm even improving it!"

Kakashi sat up and looked at the window in front of their beds. "Even at my speed I'm not close to mastering the jutsu. You on the other hand Naruto lack speed, especially stealth, and it would be difficult for you to master." The blond pouted and mumbled a stream of curses under his breath. "Though there is one person I know that's probably close to mastering the Shunshin no Jutsu."

"Who is it sensei?" the blond questioned, wanting to know who this person is. "Tell me who, I want to kick their ass and see who's stronger."

Kakashi turned his visible eye toward Naruto. "Uchiha Sasuke."

* * *

The night was warm yet breezy. The male Uchiha stirred and opened his eyes slightly. He was met with the darkness of the room and the figure he laid upon. Sakura insisted they slept like this after making love, but he knew sleeping like this was uncomfortable for both of them so he decided to shift their position. 

Sasuke pulled himself up slightly and heard his pink haired goddess whimper. She really wanted his warmth by her side. He didn't have any other choice but to move her body with his own.

With his right hand around her waist, he moved their position so that she lay against him. Her head and right hand rested on his chest, her body pressed up against his side, and her right leg in between his own.

He moved her lose strands of pink hair away from her face then Sasuke pulled the blanket up higher to over their exposed bodies and keep them warm. He looked down at his cherry blossom; she was the reason he was still striving to live. He was still sane because of her. Deep down inside of him, he couldn't help but feel something bad was going to happen to them when he finally went to face Itachi.

Before, everything revolved only around him, he didn't have to worry about anyone else but himself. No one would get in his way for all this bonds were broken. Now that he chose to love, there was one other life he had to worry about now and that was Sakura. His bonds with certain people have been mended and he was human again.

'_Face me when you have the same eyes as I do otouto.'_

Those words played in Sasuke's mind. He never understood why Itachi wanted him to gain the Mangekyou Sharingan. Yes he did go to the clan's secret meeting place under the seventh tatami mat from the far right in the Nakano Shrine's main hall, but he still didn't understand. Even to this day, he still didn't quite understand what the clan secret meant. He didn't want those eyes, he didn't want to follow the older Uchiha's orders, he didn't want to turn out to be like his brother; all he wanted was to achieve his ambition of defeating Itachi with his own strength and methods.

He made a silence vow to himself; if he made it back to Konoha with Sakura, he would destroy the records there to prevent it from happening ever again. Leaving the secret of the ultimate power of the Sharingan could only cause the clan to fall. If they achieved restoring the Uchiha Clan, he didn't want history to repeat itself; he wanted the clan to thrive like it always had in the past.

The raven haired man wrapped both arms around his cherry blossom and held her close to him. He placed a light kiss her forehead and drifted back into slumber.

* * *

The sun was beginning to rise over the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Tsunade was already in her office behind her desk. She couldn't sleep with so much on her mind. There was a stack of paperwork on her desk that needed to be done that she decided to work on it to try to get her mind off of her worries. 

By the time the sun had fully risen, the Godaime had finished half her paper work when the door opened and entered her assistant with a tray of breakfast.

"Tsunade-sama what are you doing here so early?" Shizune asked as she placed the meal in front of the older woman. "And you got half the paper work done."

The Hokage signed and set aside the documents she was looking though. "I couldn't sleep very well." She took the cup of tea and drank it down. "There's just too much on my mind."

"I understand," the brunet said, bowing her head slightly. "I delivered the message to the three personally as ordered. They should be arriving soon."

—xXx—

The purple haired special jounin was walking out of small restaurant she was eating at for breakfast. She usually would sleep in, but an order from the Hokage was important. She was curious about what to suspect in the meeting with the Hokage. It was unusual for any ninja to be called into the Hokage's office unless it had to do with a mission or questioning and Anko hadn't been on any mission lately except for the one she went to in search of Sasuke and Sakura. She assumed it was a special mission, but couldn't help shake off the feeling that it was something more important than that.

As she walked down the path to the Hokage's office, she spotted a familiar jounin.

"Oy Genma!" Anko yelled out.

The said person stopped in his track and turned around to see who had called him. The senbon needle hung out from his mouth like it was a toothpick.

"You're up early Anko," the man said in a calm manner when she stood beside him.

The woman crossed her arms and cocked a brow at the man. "What the hell is that suppose to mean?"

"I'm just going on what Kakashi told me," Genma said as he began walking again. "He said you would sleep in until noon of there wasn't anything important and some other stuff that I didn't need to hear."

Anko twitched and mumbled something about killing a certain closet pervert.

Genma chuckled. "Unfortunately, you'll have to wait a while if you want to kill the guy. He's on a mission with Naruto." He heard the woman curse. "Anyways, where are you headed this early in the morning?"

"Hokage's office," she answered rather quickly.

Genma lowered his voice. "You too, eh? Shizune delivered the message to you personally right?" The kunoichi nodded. "What do you think this could be about?"

"I don't know," she said staring off into the direction of the Hokage mansion. "But I bet whatever it is, it has to do something Kakashi and his kids."

"That's what I think too, but we can't be sure until Hokage-sama tells us," Genma said.

The two special jounins headed toward the Hokage mansion to find what they were called for. Not too far behind them, two chuunins over heard their conversation and were following them to the Hokage mansion.

"Did you catch what they said Shikamaru?"

"Troublesome woman…yeah, I did," the said person replied.

"Come on Shikamaru," the blond said as she pulled her teammate along to follow their seniors. "We might be able to get more information."

"Troublesome woman…" he gowned as he let his teammate drag him toward the Hokage's office.

"And how are we going spy on them to get information? If we stand outside the door or outside the window, we'll be spotted and punished." Ino was thinking out loud than asking the Nara genius for his advice. "Oh I got it! We can hide the ceiling!"

With that said the blond grabbed the lazy genius's wrist tightly and rushed toward the Hokage's office. They need to get themselves in position to spy on the Hokage and her visitors.

* * *

Jiraiya had already spent a day since he arrived in the Village Hidden in the Rain just searching around for the Akatsuki leader's hideout. The rain was pouring like there was no end and people were running to get to their destination or into shelter. The cloak he wore covered him from head to toe, concealed him well, and kept him dry. He walked from one area to the next to try to find some sort of information about the leader of Akatsuki. He had tried to ask a few people about the origination, but all of them looked scared and ran away from him. 

'_Are the people really that afraid of the Akatsuki leader?'_ the white haired man questioned himself.

It was already late in the morning, but the sky was covered with dark raining clouds. Jiraiya couldn't waist anymore time trying to search for information on his own; he needed to get the information from someone, from one of the villagers. The only problem was how was he going to get the villagers to talk to him? He needed to get the information one way or another and that would mean luring people into a trap to get them to start talking.

* * *

Bits of sunlight came through the window and glowed around the dark curtains. The beams of sunlight that escaped from being blocked from the curtains shot down and pass the bed, avoiding the two figures that laid there. 

It was about mid morning when the raven haired male woke from his slumber. His half lidded eyes looked down at the figure against him and saw that she was still sound asleep. He didn't want to leave her and have her wake alone later. Then again, he didn't want to leave her alone after what had happen yesterday.

He turned his gaze up toward the ceiling. Sasuke reached his left hand up and let the sun light hit his hand. It was like he was reaching out for something or something was reaching out for him. A smaller hand reached up for his, but was too short to reach. He moved his hand and entwined their fingers together then brought it down to rest on his chest.

"You're awake," he said as he kept his gaze on the ceiling.

"Mmm-hmm," she whispered softly, her eyes still closed. "Is there something bothering you?"

The male Uchiha didn't say anything and flipped them over so that he was on top. His left arm held his weight up and his right hand reached up to stroke her cheek. Sasuke's deep onyx eyes stared down and into her emerald green eyes.

Her hands reached up to touch his face. Sakura ran her hands through his hair, moving it away from his face. She moved her head up and placed a kiss against his lips.

"I'll go make some breakfast for us," she said as she moved away from her husband.

She gave him a little push to lie back down on the bed and give him one last kiss before getting off. As she walked toward the bathroom, her body swayed attractively, drawing the male Uchiha's attention to her body. The cherry blossom turned her head slightly back toward her husband and saw him eyeing her; she smiled deviously to herself and decided to have a little fun.

She went into the bathroom and didn't bother closing the door as she dressed in the clothes she wore yesterday. His onyx eyes watched as she slowly pulled her panties up her long slender ivory legs. It was like she was putting on a show for him and it was really turning him on. She then put on her black ninja shorts and turned her back toward him as she hooked on her bra. Her hair swayed and he saw the heaven seal upon her neck.

He felt slightly responsible for making her go through the torture of receiving the seal, but she didn't blame him for anything.

She took the large white haori and walked out of the bathroom. "Is there anything you want in particular to eat Sasuke-kun?" she asked as she put on the haori and secured it around her waist. She fixed the collar and made sure that it covered the markings around her neck, especially the seal.

"Hn," he answered.

She smiled at him then left the room, leaving the male Uchiha alone in the room. He brought his hands up to his face and looked at his wrist. He had been keeping a secret from Sakura for quite a while now and he decided it was time he told her. He released the low chakra jutsu and under his wrist revealed a set of almost matching tattoos.

There was a circle inscribe within a larger circle. Eight lines, equally distance from one another were emerging from the smaller circle and through the larger one. Within the smaller circle was the same symbol, but they were facing a different direction.

The fingers of his right hand touched the symbol on his left hand and a shrunken star began to emerge out of his skin. He took hold of the weapon and pulled it out of his flesh; no blood or pain came from body as he did so.

That wasn't the only weapon he could get. He had put his body under many different strains while training with Orochimaru and gained knowledge of many different jutsus.

Was it really worth it all?

* * *

Ino and Shikamaru were able to get to the Hokage's mansion fast enough to hide themselves in the ceiling of the office. The space was kind of cramped and large moments could shift the ceiling mats they laid on and make them fall out if they weren't careful. They poked a hole for themselves so that it was big enough for them to look through and small enough to be unnoticed. 

"I wonder what the hell they're going to be talking about," Ino whispered as she looked though her eye hole to see if the two special jounins they over head earlier were there yet.

"Troublesome….How would I know?"

"You're a freaking genius," she whispered angrily. "You're supposed to know theses stuff."

The male groaned in annoyance. "I can't predict the freaking future, so just stay quiet and be patient."

—xXx—

In the office, Tsunade sat on her chair and looked out toward the vast view of the village. Shizune was at the desk side with Tonton in her arms being quiet. Yamato had arrived not too long ago and they were waiting for the last two people to arrive before getting started. The knock finally came from the other end of the door.

"Enter," Tsunade said, with her chair still turned away.

The two special jounins she had had requested to be notified to meet in her office in the morning walked in. They didn't let their thoughts show upon their faces. Yamato looked at the two and greeted them with a nod of his head instead of greeting them with words.

"You requested to see us Tsunade-sama?" the two said in unison.

"Close the doors," the Hokage ordered and they did as they were told. "Shizune."

"Hai," the brunette said as she put the pig down on the ground. She closed all the curtains and locked the doors. "It's been done Tsunade-sama."

The three called in jounins didn't understand what was going on; all the shade were down, the door locked, and the room was almost completely pitched black. A candle was lit in the middle of the desk and the light coming through the side of the windows curtains provided enough light to see things. The two chuunins spying kept they ears alert and watched as carefully as they could.

"Are any of you willing to break the rules to help someone very close to you?" the Hokage asked the three jounins in the room, her back still toward the group.

No one answered. To be asked this sort of question was unexpected; they thought that the Hokage was going to brief them about something important and send them off on a mission. She didn't even tell them why they were summoned in the first place.

"It would depend how close I am to that particular person," Genma said, to break the silence. "If this someone is like family to me, then I am willing to."

"And you two, what is your answer?" she asked, since no one else spoke after Genma.

"I agree with Genma-san," Yamato said.

"Same here," Anko said.

Their answer so far was to her liking. They were willing to help a friend, even if it met breaking the rules. Now for the final question that would determine where their loyalty lied.

Tsunade turned her chair around to face the three jounins. "Will you risk your life for them even if they're S-ranked criminals?"

Shikamaru and Ino were listening closely now; what was happening was completely unexpected.

The three didn't answer; they didn't know what to answer. They assumed if they said yes, they would be watched like a hawk by the ANBU. If they answered no, they could be left alone and the topic was never mentioned again.

"You're wondering who I might be referring to, am I correct?"

Not one person moved a muscle or spoke. Tsunade's left arms reached into the drawer and pulled out two files without taking her eyes off the three jounins in front of her. She dropped the two files down on the desk, the names upon the folder clearly visible.

The three had their eyes widened slightly. The two names on the folders were a surprise to them. To think the Hokage asked if they would help these two specific ninjas.

From the ceiling, Shikamaru and Ino were unable to read the names written on the files. It was too small to see from where they hid.

"I need your answer right away," Tsunade said.

They still didn't know what to answer; this was too confusing. There was so many questions running though their mind, but the Hokage wanted their answer.

Genma sighed. "I'm willing to help her." Yamato and Anko turned to look at the special jounin, shocked about what he just said. "I'm willing to break the rules to help her."

From behind the three jounins, Shizune had a small smile; she knew that Genma would be willing to help. The male was like another member to team seven.

"Yamato, Anko," Tsunade said strictly. "You may leave if your answer is no."

"Tsunade-sama," Yamato said. "I'm willing to help too. She and Naruto consider him as a family member too. I'm willing to risk my life to protect them."

Now the only person left was Anko. She didn't know what to say. She was close to Kakashi and Sakura, but the other members of team seven were just comrades. Then again, she knew what it was like being controlled by Orochimaru; she knew the torture and pain he would have put them through. Maybe she could be of some assistant if they ever needed to know anything about the curse mark.

"Count me in too Hokage-sama," Anko said.

From within the ceiling, the two chuunins were shocked. Three ninjas from Konoha, their own comrades had just stated that they were willing to break the rules to help two S-ranked criminals. The only thing that was bothering them was who were they exactly?

Both of them wanted to burst out of their hiding and confront the ninjas in the room of their crimes, but that would only cause trouble. They needed more evidence and information before they were going to jump into conclusions.

The Godaime smirked. "Shizune, you know what to do."

The brunette nodded and made a few quick hand signs before pressing her palms onto the ground. An unusual pulse of chakra surrounded the room and changed the atmosphere. All sounds from the room were cut off; nothing from inside the main room could be heard anywhere else.

The two chuunins above couldn't hear a thing anymore. Their chance of gathering more information was lessoning.

"Shikamaru, they found out about us," Ino whispered panicked.

"I don't think so," the Nara genus said. "I think they're blocking out all their voices so no one can hear what they're talking about."

"Then what the hell are we going to do?"

"Troublesome woman….We try to read their lips."

"I can't read lips very well!"

"Either can I, but this is our only chance to get more information to tell the others."

The two chuunins looked down and continued watching what was happening.

The Hokage leaned back into her chair. "There is no turning back on your decisions and what will go on in this office will not be mentioned to anyone else. Do you understand?" The three nodded their heads. "What I am about to inform you about is completely classified information that only Naruto, Kakashi, Shizune, and myself know about. As you may have already guessed, it does involve Sasuke and Sakura."

"But why did you choose us Hokage-sama?" Anko asked. She wasn't the only person curious; the two males were just as confused about why they were selected.

"The three of you are close to team seven than anyone else and are trusted by the team. I also have some tasks that will relay on your skills." Tsunade sighed. "Sai can't be involved in this because of Root. Whether or not you know, there is a sub group in the ANBU Black Ops. They specialize in assignation, particularly highly ranked criminals that are a threat to the village."

"How are Sasuke and Sakura a threat to the village?" Yamato asked.

"They've have been given the title of sannins and rumored to have completely demolished the village of Oto that Orochimaru created." Tsunade sat forward on her chair. "That rumor is false, but people are starting to assume that Konoha is on their hit list and Root ANBUs thinks so too."

"That's just freaking crazy!" Genma argued. "It doesn't make any sense for those two to destroy their home village."

"We understand, but unfortunately, Root has the elders backing them up and Tsunade-sama can't do anything to them," Shizune said as she stepped toward the desk. She reached into her left sleeve and pulled out a few papers. "These arrived just this morning." The laid the papers out, revealing three bounties that belong to none other than the sannins of team seven.

"This is our main problem," Tsunade said. "If these just came in, there a change that Root already knows about the bounties. Naruto is safe, but what worries me are Sasuke and Sakura."

"When were these issued?" Yamato asked.

"We're not sure, but we know it's been out for a while now," Shizune said. She drew out the bounty belonging to Sakura. "Judging from the bounty picture of Sakura, it must have come out about a year to a few months ago."

"Do Kakashi and Naruto know about this?"

"They don't," Tsunade answered. "I received news about the bounties yesterday from Sakura." She let out a depressing sigh. "But there's a chance that her bounty along with Sasuke's will raise." The three jounin didn't know what she met. "Sakura is married to Uchiha Sasuke and if she becomes pregnant, her bounty would rocket."

"We don't know their location, but they've been sending letters to us," Shizune said. "Kakashi and Naruto aren't on a real mission. Tsunade-sama made a false written mission for them to get out of the village."

"Are the elders suspecting something?" Genma asked.

"Actually, the rookie teams are suspecting something," Tsunade said. "Hence I had Shizune place a jutsu on the room." Tsunade shifted her eyes up to indicate something important. "Two of them are currently above us trying to gather information."

"Wouldn't they be able to read our lips?"

"Yes, but they won't be able to gather all the things we have spoken off. But we don't have to worry too much about them," Tsunade said. "Right now I have a mission for each of you. Yamato, I need you to go into Root's main headquarters to get me their bounties target files. Make sure you're not spotted and get back to me as quick as possible."

"Hai Tsunade-sama," Yamato said.

"Anko, your job is to keep an eye out for the rookie teams," Tsunade said. "Make sure they don't stick their heads where it doesn't belong. We can't let any information concerning Sasuke and Sakura out to anyone and cause problems for us."

"And if things turn out bad?" Anko asked.

"Bring them in and I shall deal with them personally," Tsunade said leaning back into her chair. "I want you to report in at the end of each week. If it's something important and urgent that needs my attention, report to me right away."

"I understand."

"Genma, you're working with Anko for now," Tsunade said. "When you are needed, I will send for you."

"Hai," Genma said.

"The three of you are dismiss," the Hokage said with a wave of her arm.

The three jounins bowed them left the room in a puff of smoke. Tsunade took the two files and the bounties away, placing everything back the drawers.

"You can lift the jutsu now Shizune."

The brunette made a hand sign. "Kai." The room changed back to its normal atmosphere. "I'll be heading over to the hospital now."

The Hokage nodded and rested back into the chair she sat on. She closed her eyes and couldn't help but wonder how her student was doing.

—xXx—

From the ceiling, Shikamaru and Ino were leaving to pass on what they were able to learn. There were just too many shocking things they learned of that the other members of the rookie teams needed to know about.

"Hurry up lazy ass," Ino whispered. "We have to get the others together to tell them what we learned."

"I know that," the male said. "Just stop being so troublesome."

When the two were finally out of the building, they decided they would tell the gang what they had learned right away.

"We'll split up and find the other," Shikamaru said. "We'll meet up at the restaurant to again to talk about it."

"Got it," Ino said.

The two chuunins split and went to find their friends.

* * *

Sakura was heading back to the room with a tray full of food. She kept thinking about the possibilities of being pregnant. If she checked now, she would have to confirm it later again. It really bothered her; she wanted to know if it was true. She was so eager to know if she did have a life growing inside of her; a life that she and Sasuke had created. She pink haired kunoichi really wanted to tell her husband, but she was still unsure whether she was or wasn't. 

She opened the door to the room and entered in. She noticed that Sasuke was still lying in bed, the blanket covering him from the waist down. In his one hand, he had a shuriken star.

"Sasuke-kun," she called. The said person quickly concealed the tattoos with a jutsu as he sat up. He turned his head and saw his wife closing the door. She placed the tray of food in front of the male Uchiha then took a seat opposite from him. "I made simple dishes for us to eat. If you want me to make something else, just say so."

Sasuke started down at the tray; Sakura really put effort into making a traditional breakfast. There were two bowls of rice and nori, grilled fish, a large bowl of miso soup, steamed tofu with some soy sauce and green onions on top, and a small plate of sliced tomatoes. She even had two cups of hot green tea with a pot filled with more. Sakura had prepared an actual breakfast for them when she didn't have to. It reminded him so much of the breakfast his mother would make for him when he was younger.

"There's only one bowl of miso soup," he said, looking up at her.

"I already had some myself," she lied. She didn't have an appetite to eat anything when she should be eating more. "This bowl is for you and the sliced of tomatoes too."

He took a pair of chopsticks and a bowl of rice then began to eat. He would stop after every bite of rice to get some fish and or tofu. He didn't say anything about her cooking and she took that as a good think. She picked up her own pair of chopsticks and bowl of rice and began eating as well.

Though it was quiet between them as they ate, it felt like they were actually back in Konoha, back at home. They were eating breakfast together, enjoying each other company.

When they were all done, Sakura placed the tray outside by the door. She closed the door and was going to head over to bathroom to get started on cleaning the clothes piled up.

"Come here Sakura," he called out to her.

It sounded like an order, but she knew that the male was trying to be more loving. She obeyed and went over to the bed. Sakura took a seat at his sides, only to have him pull her over so that she sat in between his legs, his arms wrapped around her body. He rested his hand on her left shoulder where he was able to get a clear view of the curse seal upon her neck.

"Is there something wrong Sasuke-kun?"

Her left hand reached up and touched his face. The feeling of her soft fingers running along his skin made him feel like there was nothing to worry about in the world, but that was all a lie. His arms loosened around her waist and he brought his wrist to her eye level. She looked at his wrist, not knowing what her husband was going to do. Sasuke release the jutsu and the tattoos became visible.

Her hand reached over and touched the marking along his wrists. Her emerald eyes slightly saddened; there was so much Sakura didn't know about Sasuke, but at least he was slowly opening up to her.

His right hand moved her left hand away from his. Sakura watched as his fingers touched the symbol on his left wrist and a shuriken star emerged from his skin. She was shocked; this was completely unexpected as she watched him pull out the weapon from his wrist. She touched his skin the moment the shuriken star was out of his hand. She couldn't believe that there wasn't a scar or wound left over from what he had just done. She ran her fingers alone the marking to make sure there wasn't any blood.

"Does it hurt?" she asked, turning her head slightly so to see his face.

He just shook his head to answer to question. He knew she must be mad at him for keeping secrets from her, but Sakura understood that it was difficult for him to open up. She turned around fully to face him, wrapped her arms around his torso and lied against her chest.

"You don't need to hide anything from me," she whispered. "Just tell me whenever you're ready to, alright?"

"Aa…"

Now Sakura was unsure whether she should tell her husband about being possibly pregnant. She knew the news would bring him joy, but it would also be bad. The changes of Itachi targeting her would rise and Sasuke would have to worry more about her. She didn't need to tell him directly, just ask him for a favor. There was a change it may not work and he would find out, but it was worth a try tough.

"Sasuke-kun," she said as she pulled away. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Hn."

"Can you use your Sharingan to check if there's any abnormal chakra flow in my body?"

"What for?" he asked.

"I wasn't feeling well yesterday and I still feel a little sick," she lied. "I want you to help me make sure it has nothing to do with my chakra flow."

Sasuke thought that it was odd for her to ask him because Sakura was a medic and was capable in finding abnormal chakra flows in her own body. Then again, she could be asking him to make sure what she found was correct. The way she had fainted yesterday could have been caused by a chakra imbalance.

He closes his eyes and reopened them to reveal the crimson orbs of the Sharingan. He looked over her from head to toe and saw nothing that was unusual. Her body's flow of chakra was normal, no blockage or seals of any kind. When he looked over her body a second time, he noticed her chakra flicker slightly in her lower abdomen.

She noticed his eyes were focused on her abdomen and she admittedly became tense. "Is there something wrong Sasuke-kun?" she asked worryingly.

"Relax your body," he replied emotionlessly.

The pink haired woman took in a deep breath and relaxed her entire body. Sasuke watched as her chakra flow normally throughout her body again. He assumed that the flicker happened when she began to feel uncomfortable and tensed.

The fingers of his right hand touched her abdomen. "There was a slight flicker when you tensed," the male said as his eyes changed back to the onyx orbs.

"Arigatou Sasuke-kun," she said as he moved away.

The male just nodded before he stood up from the bed. The pink haired woman turned her head away with a slight blush on her cheeks. She didn't want to be caught staring, even though she had seen him completely naked more than once.

Sakura's mind drifted off to what had just happened. She was somewhat relieved that Sasuke hadn't seen a foreign chakra in her body, but that flicker he mentioned bothered her. There were so many possibilities running through her mind of when she could have conceived. If it was during their first night together, then the flicker of chakra Sasuke had seen would have been a sign that the embryo was developing and was beginning to develop its own chakra signature. The embryo would begin to feed on her own chakra within two to three weeks of being conceived and that was when she would be able to confirm the pregnancy. She touched her lower abdomen, she knew the signs of pregnancy, but ever woman goes through pregnancy differently.

If she did conceive during their first time of intercourse, she would have to wait one more week before she could confirm the pregnancy. She would be about a week and a half into the pregnancy already if it was true. Then again, she could have conceived during their other times of intercourse, therefore the embryo would be still developing. There might even be a small possibility that she hyper ovulated and conceived more than once during the other nights she was with Sasuke. There was just so much going thought her mind, confusing her of what to do.

"Daijoubu Sakura?" he asked.

The young woman snapped out of her daze and turned around to face her fully dressed husband. He has his sword strapped around the stash he wore and his sandals on. She smiled and nodded to answer him. "You're going to head out for training?" She received a nod from him. She walked over to him and took hold of his hands. "Don't strain yourself like you did, alright?"

"Aa…"

She stood on her toes and placed a quick kiss on his lips before he was out the window.

* * *

Shikamaru and Ino found all the other members of the rookie team by noon. They all gathered at the restaurant to discuss things over lunch. It was the same place they were at for the previous two meetings concerning team seven. 

Everyone ordered their meal and waited for the food to come before Shikamaru and Ino began the discussion about what they were able to find out. When their orders finally came and the waiters and waitresses left, everyone shifted their gaze toward the two chuunins.

"What did you find out that's so important?" Neji asked after he took a sip of his tea.

"What we found out might help us pit the pieces of the puzzle together," the Nara genius said sitting up right. "Tsunade-sama, Kakashi-sensei, and Naruto have been up to something that involves Sasuke and Sakura."

"And she has gotten Shizune-san, Yamato-sensei, Genma, and Anko in on it too!" Ino yelled out loudly. "I don't-"

Tenten quickly came up behind the blond and covered her mouth. Ino muffled something incoherent only to be silenced when Tenten stomped on her foot. They heard a few murmurs outside the door, one which was angry. They didn't know whether it was people just passing by or someone listening in on their conversation to spy on them. When it was safe to speak again, the weapon mistress removed her hand away from Ino's mouth.

"Keep your voice down Ino," Tenten said as she took her seat. "We don't want everyone in the village to hear you yelling."

The blond huffed and crossed his arms across her chest. "Fine, I'll stop shouting. But I'm curious why we weren't chosen to take part in this secrecy. I mean I'm practically Sakura's best friend."

"They must have their reasons for not letting us be involved," Kiba said. "Maybe they might let us in on it later on."

"We can't assume anything," Neji said.

"The most important thing that you have to know about is the bounties," Shikamaru said. Everyone but Ino stared at the man oddly as if he had just grown another head. "I assure you it has nothing to do with us, but it does involve a certain team."

"Team seven I presume," Shino said, only to receive a nod from the Nara.

"Since we weren't able to hear them, we had to read lips to get information," Shikamaru said. "So everything we say can't be completely true." Everyone nodded in understanding. "The Hokage said something about Sakura married and her bounty reward going up."

"NO! MY CHERRY BLOSSOM HAS BEEN TAKEN AWAY FROM ME!" Lee yelled out dramatically only to have his face in his food when his teammates pushed his head down.

Both the male Hyuuga and the weapon mistress mumbled something about having a crazy teammate.

"Could she be married to Sasuke?" Tenten asked. "I mean they are traveling together."

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Ino yelled out, slamming her hands down on the table. "My Sasuke-kun would never marry forehead girl!"

"Hate to say it to you," Kiba said with a mouthful of food. "But I really believe that Sakura is married to Sasuke."

"It would explain why her bounty reward would go up," Tenten said.

"Stop!" the blond yelled, coving her ears. "I don't want to head it."

"Troublesome…that's not the only thing," Shikamaru said. "They talked about the ANBUs too. They mentioned something about the ANBU going for the bounties."

"W-w-wouldn't t-that m-mean N-N-Naruto-kun is in d-danger too," Hinata stuttered.

"But Naruto is still a ninja of this village," Chouji said with a mouth full of food. "It wouldn't make sense for anyone to capture him unless they're from outside the village."

"Whatever the Hokage talked about with them," Shikamaru said. "It remain secret to everyone unless they're apart of this secrecy. All we can do is to try to get what information we seek."

—xXx—

Anko, who had used a jutsu to be one of the waitress to bring in the foods for the rookie team heard everything they had said. She had been standing outside by the door, patiently listening to what they were talking about in there. She was almost found out if it wasn't for an idiot trying to hit on her.

So far, they didn't know anything about what was really discussed in the morning at the Hokage's office. Grabbing a stick of dango, Anko released the jutsu and walked out of the restaurant. Her job for today was completed.

* * *

The sun was out and just staying indoors was driving him insane. He has woken up when it was close to noon, ate, and was waiting for his closet pervert of a sensei to take him out to go training. Assuming that the white haired man would do so later on, the blond decided to do some chakra controlling exercises. After doing so for about two hours, the blond finally got had enough. 

"When the hell are we going to go out and train Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto yelled out at his sensei. "I'm freaking bored in here and I feel like a piece of pork in a hot ramen bowl!"

"Not until I finish this chapter," the man replied to him in a calm manner without looking over at his student. "I'm in the middle of something good."

The blond clenched his head and was at the point where he was going to rip his hair out from going insane. Naruto let out an annoyed huff and fell onto the bed.

He head the white hair man make some sort of snickering noise and couldn't help but wonder what was do interesting about the book. What caught his attention was what his sensei whispered.

"I wonder if Sasuke and Sakura have reached his point in their engagement," the white haired man whispered to himself. "I wouldn't be surprised if they have."

The demon vessel sat straight up. "Your perverted mind is killing me sensei!" the blond yelled out. "Entertain me, train me, I'm freaking bored out of my mind here!"

"Here's your mission," he said. Kakashi just tossed the first book of the Icha Icha series to the blond. "I order you to read that," the man said. "Don't stop for any unnecessary reasons and keep reading on. Even if it's boring, just keep reading it." Kakashi lowered his book so that his visible eye looked at Naruto. "Trust me Naruto; you'll end up liking the book."

The blond opened the first page of the book as ordered and began reading.

* * *

After their little lunch meeting, everyone headed their separate ways, except for two. Up on the mountain where the Hokages' faces have been carved in, stood two ninjas from the rookie team. They needed to discuss a few things that they thought the others shouldn't know about yet until later. 

"We're in deep shit," Shikamaru said as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

The male Hyuuga raised a brow. "What is it this time?"

"I think Hokage-sama knew Ino and I were spying on her meeting," the Nara said after exhaling smoke. "And I can't shake off this feeling that someone was spying on us when we were having our own meeting in the restaurant."

"What did you have in mind that we do?" Neji asked. "The only way to get out of this shit is to tell the elders."

"Not yet, we need more information to confirm everything." Shikamaru took another puff from his cigarette. "I didn't tell the others this, but I was able to gain some important information." The white eyed male turned to look at his junior. "Sakura is actually married to Uchiha Sasuke. Tsunade-sama indicated that if Sakura become pregnant with an Uchiha heir, her bounty goes up."

"And you didn't tell us this back at the restaurant because…"

"Pft, do you really want to deal with Ino when she blows up?"

Neji just sighed. "It makes sense since Uchiha Sasuke is the sole survivor of his clan's massacre. What else is there that I need to know about?"

"The ANBUs are preparing to kill Sasuke and Sakura on sight if they enter the village."

"They're not going to capture them and bring them in for questioning?" The Nana genius shook his head. "Pft, they're not going to succeed. I doubt those two will be entering in the village without some sort of escort or hostage protecting them."

"We don't know what Hokage-sama is planning exactly; we can only keep a close eye on what they do."

"That should be easy for us," the Hyuuga said confidently.

"It won't be, we have to be careful with our actions," Shikamaru said dropping his cigarette on the ground and extinguishing it. "We might be surveillance closely now."

* * *

The day was growing late and the sun was beginning to set. Sasuke jumped from one roof top to another, heading back to the room the elder cat had provided for them to stay in. 

Now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen the elder cat or anyone else for that matter. It was most likely because he was so focused on training, focused on his revenge that he didn't bother paying attention to anything else. He kept planning out when they would leave to head out to where they were suppose to find Itachi. The younger Uchiha brother wanted to get their early so that he would be ready to attack the moment Itachi came.

When Sasuke reached the balcony railing, he just stood on top for a moment. He closed his eyes and let the wind ruffle his hair a bit. He had someone to protect now, someone to live for, and something to look forward to when the hold battle was over. He was set on winning the battle to finally revenge his clan's massacre.

He opened his eyes and looked into the empty room. Every moment he had with her mattered; he had to live everyday with her as if it was their last. Time was against them and they couldn't fight it no matter what they did.

Sasuke stepped down from the railing and through the opened window. His clothes were still whole and there wasn't a signal wound on his body. He didn't strain himself, but he was tired and low on chakra. He dropped his weapons onto the ground and lay down on the bed. He closed his onyx eyes and took in deep breaths. The Uchiha needed to rest and ended up dosing off.

—xXx—

Sakura had spent her time in the lab, working on a few poisons that might be useful for Sasuke when he was going to fight Itachi. She was mainly making it for her own use. If she really was pregnant, the pink haired kunoichi wouldn't be able too much. Physical damage would put her health in danger and maybe cause her to lose a child.

Unfortunately, she wasn't able to stay in the lab for very long, the odor was beginning to bother her and she couldn't concentrate very well with that distraction, especially when it was giving her headaches. A sensitive sense of smell was also a sign of pregnancy. Sakura touched her lower abdomen; she really believed that she was pregnant and an Uchiha heir was growing inside of her.

She rubbed her temples, she needed to focus and not let the thought of a child bother her too much. The idea of having a child worried her because she and Sasuke were young and the battle with Itachi was coming up very soon. There were just too many problems.

Sakura took in a deep breath and headed to the kitchen to make dinner for her husband. She walked into the empty room and gathered all the ingredients she would need. She placed two large bowls side by side and put different raw ingredients in; some pieces of lettuces, chopped onion sprouts, and udon noodles. On the side was a few strips of cooked pork; the bowl that was for Sasuke had more in it. When the broth over the stove was boiling, Sakura turned off the gas and poured the soup over the contents in the bowl.

With each bowl hot, she placed a cover over each to keep it warm. She placed two pairs of chopsticks, two spoons, and a plate of sliced tomatoes on the tray then headed back to the room with dinner. Balancing the tray in one arm, she opened the door and entered in. She noticed the figure on the bed and couldn't help but smile. She placed the tray of food down on the desk and went to wake the sleeping male. She gave him a slight nudge and his eye lids opened.

"You shouldn't go to bed with an empty stomach," she said. "I made some dinner for us."

"Aa…"

They ate in silence, no words were exchanged and Sasuke seemed to be deep in thought about something. When they were finished, Sakura put the tray out by the door to be collected.

She returned over to the bed where the male she loved sat. He was still deep in thought, planning which approach he would take. He just stared blankly down at the ground; just completely lost. She took his hands in hers and pulled him into the bathroom. Sasuke stared down at her, confused about what she was doing.

She gave him a small smile then stood on her toes, giving him a heartily kiss. The pink haired girl was about to break the kiss, but he didn't let her. His right hand reached up and tangled itself in her pink locks as he held on to her head, deepening the kiss. His free hand removed every article of clothing on her body as her own hands did the same to him.

Both of his hands traveled down her body to her thigh. He held on to her tightly and lifted her up so that her head was leaved with his. He wrapped his arms under her buttock and walked them over the showers. Without breaking their lip's contacts, one of his hands reached out and turned on the water.

Cold water came pouring out first causing the cherry blossom to gasp into the kiss. With her lips parted, Sasuke took the opportunity to ravish her mouth with his tongue. When they parted, his tongue licked her lips, and then put her down on her own feet and began nip on her skin. One of her hands tangled themselves in his raven locks, her other hand rubbing up and down his back. His hands rested on her hips, his thumb rubbing her sink gently. Every time he nipped against a sensitive spot along her neck, she would moan loudly and clench his hair tightly.

They weren't really taken a shower, more like getting their body rinsed off. They were little too preoccupied with each other to take a real shower. Almost a half an hour later did they turn off the water and step out. Sasuke grabbed a towel and draped it over Sakura's head. She took hold on the towel and began to dry her hair as much as she could. She saw her husband to the same then took another towel to wrap around his waist. He grabbed another towel and wrapped it around Sakura's waist before walking out of the bathroom.

Sakura followed behind and was heading over to the closet to get some clothes to wear, but Sasuke grabbed her wrist. He didn't say anything and led her over to the bed. He sat down and brought the cherry blossom to sit in between his legs. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close into his chest.

She could tell by his behavior that there was something wrong. He was deep in thought about something and she knew it involved the upcoming battle with Itachi.

"We're leaving in a week," he said.

He rested his head on her left shoulder and closed his eyes. He took in her flowered scent, waiting to see if she had anything to say about it.

One week, in one week they were going to leave the place the elder cat had provided for them and head for their final battle with Uchiha Itachi. The final battle between the Uchiha brothers would decide the fate of the clan. Would the great Uchiha clan prosper or will it end with the two brothers?

Sakura realized something important. In one week, she should be able to confirm whether or not she was pregnant with an heir. She was panicking inwardly; how was she supposed to fight and help Sasuke if she was pregnant? She knew her husband would forbid her from fighting, but she didn't want to stand on the sidelines and watch.

She knew that by getting involved in the fight, there was a high possibility that she would lose the baby. Sakura didn't want to lose a child, but then again, she and Sasuke were young and had other chances for getting pregnant. She was just confused about what she should do. Sakura placed her hands on Sasuke's forearms which were on her lower abdomen.

The cherry blossom would have to take the risk. She leaned her head against his as he held on to her tighter. "One week it is," she said in a low voice.

* * *

Special appreciation to my great fanfic buddy: animequeen100. 

**Hello again readers. Thank you to all of those that reviewed. It's another late update, but with a long chapter. I know there was a lot of scene jumps, but this chapter covers one full day. I am open for any questions, ideas, or suggestions reviews may have.**

**I know some readers may find this chapter plain, but I'm trying to make things lead up to the huge battles. If there are any questions or anything, don't hesitate to speak up.**

**To those that do reread previous chapters, you may have noticed some changes/addition to the chapters. No worries, I just read through it and found some mistakes and stuff and went back to correct it a bit. The plot won't change at all.**

**IMPORTANT AUTHOR NOTE AND REVIEWING!!**

Last chapters reviews had may opinions on whether Sakura should be pregnant or not. Here's another change for you to speak out your opinion again

**Review voting! If you review, please VOTE either:**

Yes, you want Sakura pregnant in the fanfic and have a happy ending **OR** Yes, you want Sakura pregnant in the fanfic and have a sad ending **OR** No, you don't want Sakura pregnant at all.

**Your opinions matter and will affect the outcome of the fanfic, so please review with you votes! Virtual treats for all!**


	26. Chap 26: The Death of the Akatsuki

**Hey there readers! Please do me a HUGE favor and READ the important author note at the end of this chapter. This chapter has SPOILS! ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this fanfic.**

* * *

Chapter 26: The Death of the Akatsuki

As Sasuke lay asleep, Sakura just stared up at his calm sleeping face. The bed end where their upper body laid was slightly propped up, just enough for them to sleep comfortably. He was clothed in only his boxers; she was clothed in a pair of panties and a very thin nightgown. She lay against his naked chest, her head resting on his right shoulder. His right hand was around her shoulders and his other hand on her waist. The blanket covered them only up to their waist as they lay in the propped up bed.

The young Uchiha matriarch couldn't sleep, there was too much on her mind that she wouldn't be able to sleep soundly. She tried to stop thinking about the possible pregnancy, the time she had left with her husband, and the upcoming battle with Itachi, but it was just too hard to do so. Each one had an impact on her life, their lives. The pregnancy would create a family for the young married couple which was something the young Uchiha always wanted; his goal of reviving the clan would be complete. The battle against Itachi would decide the faith of the great Uchiha clan and which of the two brothers was stronger; if Sasuke died, she would have to deal with being a signal mother or the Itachi could kill her and the possible unborn child. She didn't know how long her time with Sasuke was going to last; everyday to her seemed like their last.

The kunoichi wasn't going to break down even though deep down she wanted to; she had to stay strong no matter what happens. Why was their lives surrounded by so many problems? Is there such a thing as a happy ending? She placed her head back on the crook of his neck and sighed; it was seriously too much for her to handle all at once at a time like this. Sakura snuggled closer to the warmth of her lover's body as she tried to let sleep overcome her. She felt Sasuke's right hand move to the back of her neck and massage her slightly, lessening the tension of her body.

"You should be sleeping," he said, without opening his eye.

He sounded as if he had been awake all along and had just closed his eyes to rest. He hadn't fallen into a deep slumber and he knew his wife has been staring up at him. The young man understood most of her worries, but there wasn't much he could do. Yes he wished most of their problems would go away so that his life wouldn't be as complicated as it is now, but life wasn't that simple. There are obstacles in life they just have to face. His free hand pulled the blanket up higher to cover their bodies then rested his hand on her lower back.

"I know," she whispered back to him. "There's just a lot on my mind Sasuke-kun."

"Don't think too much about it," Sasuke replied to her. "You need to rest as much as I do."

"Don't worry about me," she said. "You should go back to sleep though Sasuke-kun."

He didn't say anything, but stopped massaging her neck. He held her closer to his body and let sleep overcome him. She listened to his even breathing before her eye lids were beginning to get heavy. She finally closed her eyes and slept in the arm of the man she loved.

* * *

It was the next day in the village of Konoha and everything seemed calmed. It was a simple day with people going around the village to buy their needed goods; ninjas were either busy with missions or training. The only ones that were very busy were Tsunade, Shizune, Genma, Anko, and Yamato.

Anko and Genma had split their task so that it would be easier to find out more about what the rookie teams knew. After the meeting with the Hokage, Yamato went to get the layout of the Root ANBU base right away. Charting down a map of the building wasn't difficult; he had finished that by nightfall on the day he was assigned the mission. What would be difficult was getting in and out of the place undetected because of the heavy surveillance. He needed to get the Godaime's opinion about how might he approach the mission and avoid any encounter with people from the ANBU Root squad.

Yamato went directly to the Hokage's office the next morning to tell Tsunade his progress. When he arrived, Anko and Genma were there too, telling the legendary sannin about their mission's first day.

"So the only people that know anything of what we're doing are the rookie teams," Tsunade said. "And all they know are the very basic detail of what's going on."

"Hai Tsunade-sama," Anko said.

"Nara Shikamaru and Hyuuga Neji are the only ones that have more knowledge of what's going on," Genma added in. "Nara exchanges more information of what he had gathered with the Hyuuga prodigy and they elaborate on the situation."

"I see," Tsunade said. "Ah, Yamato, what's your progress?"

Yamato bowed to the Hokage before speaking. "I have charted down the building's layout, but unfortunately for us, the Root ANBUs have the entire place surveillance." He took out the map he had made and gave it to the female Hokage to look at it. "The main office belonging to Danzou is locked with two Root ANBUs guarding the door. The Root members guarding the door have a shift changes too."

"Damn," Tsunade cursed. "I never thought they wanted to be that secretive in what they did." She signed and her eyes glared down at the paperwork scattered on her desk. "To think the Root ANBU squad actually has the full support of the elders."

"Speaking of the elders," Genma said. "The rookie members are considering over the idea of telling the elders of what they know about the Uchihas and us."

Tsunade slammed her hands on the desk hard as she stood, making it break in half. Yamato knew that whenever the Hokage broke her desk it was never a good thing; especially now, at a time like this. Anko was silently cursing the man for not telling the Hokage the important information in the beginning. Genma took out the senbon in his mouth and held it in his hand, afraid that if he were to be punched, it would be safer without the piece of metal in his mouth.

"Have they gone to the elders at all yet?" Tsunade asked full of rage. The way she spoke showed that she was trying to keep her anger from exploding.

"No they haven't," Genma answered. "They're waiting to gather more information first before making the decision of whether or not they want to go to the elders."

"Anko, make sure they don't go to the elders," the Hokage said. "If they were to find out, the village will be under the old farts control and cause more problems for us."

"I understand," Anko said. "I will bring them in before they reached the elders."

"Good," Tsunade said. She turned her attention to Genma and Yamato. "The two of you will work together on retrieving the documents. I want it done immediately."

"Hai Tsunade-sama," the two male jounins said.

The female Hokage sat back down in her seat; she was getting stressed way too much over this, but it was important to her. She sighed heavily as the door opened. Shizune stepped in the office carrying a backpack and a tray with a pot of hot tea and a cup. The first apprentice of the Hokage noticed the broken desk and knew whatever had gotten her upset was huge.

"Yamato-san," the brunette said. "Take this with you." She handed the pack over to the former ANBU ninja. "I packed some things in there that may be helpful."

"Arigatou Shizune," Yamato said.

"Tsunade-sama," Shizune called. The said person looked up at her assistant as she handed her a cup of hot tea. "Drink this down; it will help relax your body."

Tsunade took the mug and slowly sipped the steaming liquid. "The three of you are dismiss," Tsunade said.

The three jounins bowed then left the room in a puff of smoke. The female Hokage leaned back in her seat; the tea was helping a bit to relax her body, but it wasn't enough.

"How are things so far Tsunade-sama?" the brunette asked.

"It's worse than I had expected it to be," Tsunade replied.

—xXx—

Anko was over at her favorite dango stand getting a sweet snack. She wasn't there just because she really likes the dango; she had some people to watch from a distance. Close to the stand she stood by there was an outdoor tea stand and seated at a table were two ninjas she had to keep an eye on, Hyuuga Neji and Tenten.

"Things are really getting complicated," Tenten said.

Neji nodded. "What I just told you should remain a secret," the Hyuuga said. "The others can't know about it yet."

She cocked a brow at her teammate. "Then why did you tell me all these information?" the weapon mistress asked.

"If things turn out bad, Nara and I will at least have someone that knows what's going on," the Hyuuga said. "I trust you with this information."

"Hai," the young woman said sheepishly, turning her gaze away from the male.

She felt as if his fierce gaze stared straight threw her. Everything just felt award; she wasn't use to the being around the Hyuuga prodigy for a long time alone. He isn't very social, but when it came to training, he would be somewhat social with people. There was a pregnant silence between the two as they remain seated. Tenten would slowly eat her food as Neji sipped his tea.

"When will you and Shikamaru tell the others?" Tenten asked to break the silence.

"We don't know yet," a voice said approaching them.

The two turned to see who had spoken and it was Shikamaru. He took one of the empty seats and a waiter came to take his order. After his food came, the three talk more about the current issue.

"I assume you told Tenten-san," the young Nara asked. He received a nod from the Hyuuga. "Alright, here's is my theory. If we tell the others what we know it could get us in deep trouble." The two nodded in understanding. "Also not everyone can keep their mouth shut." They knew whom he was referring to. "If all of us knew of the information it could lead to suspicion. We have to avoid that at all cost, but I think it's going to be a bit difficult for us now."

"Did either of you have anyone else in mind beside me to tell the information to?" Tenten asked.

"I have been thinking over whether we should tell Shino or not," Shikamaru said.

"He will be a huge help to us," Neji said putting down his mug of tea. "Gathering information will be easier for him to accomplish."

"That is what I had in mind," Shikamaru said. He leaned forward on his chair and whispered. "But I think we should wait a while before drawing Shino in more. I can't shake off this feeling of being watched and I think we should stop talking about this for now."

'_Being a true genius doesn't get you out of everything Nara,'_ Anko said in her mind as she smiled. _'You can't always be ahead of the game.'_

The purple haired ninja tossed the small wooden stick into the garbage and licked her lips. She purchased another stick of dango then went on her way to see what the others were up to.

—xXx—

On a nearby roof top, two jounins hid in the shadows as they watched the building they were targeting, the ANBU Root headquarters. They have been at it for quite a while and haven't spotted anything out of the ordinary yet. It was already noon and they needed to act soon.

"What do you think Genma?" Yamato asked. "Can we get the files without being noticed?"

"That Danzou person hasn't appeared since we've been here," Genma said. "And I don't' sense any other chakra around beside the two guards down there." He shifted the senbon needle to let it hang out the other side of his lips. "Other than that I think it would be easy for us to get the files." Yamato nodded, agreeing with what the man said. "Now our only problem is our uniform."

"That has been covered," Yamato said pointing to the backpack he had over his shoulder. "Shizune had prepared these for us to use if we needed it." He took off the pack and opened it, revealing two sets of ANBU uniform and gear. "Shall we begin the retrieval?"

The two jounins quickly changed into the ANBU uniform shirt since the pants weren't any different. Yamato slipped on the mask and secured his sword over his shoulder. He took the ANBU mask of a dog and left the one of an eagle for Genma. On his left arm, the ANBU tattoo was in plain sight. Luckily, Genma was a former ANBU ninja and he still had the red tattoo on his arm. He had considered over the idea of removing the tattoo, but the process to do so involved unbearable pain and shock that it could lead a person's death. Genma removed his Leaf headband over his head and tucked away his senbon needle. The extra sword in the pack was hanging over his shoulder; easy to reach if anything were to happen.

"We have twenty minutes to get what we need and get out of here," Genma said. "How do you think we should deal with the guards?"

"Knocking them unconscious would have a faster affect," Yamato suggested. "But we have to do it fast, before they notice us and call for backup."

With that said, the two jounins disappeared and quickly reappeared behind the Root members that were guarding the doors. They knocked them out before the Root members had time to act. Genma and Yamato caught their bodies then placed them down on the ground carefully. As Genma kept watch, Yamato turned his attention to the wooden door. He made a few hand seals then placed his hands against the door.

From the inside, a wooden clone of Yamato emerged from the door. The clone looked around then went through the files without messing with the way things were set. When he finally found what they had been looking for, there were several copies of the bounty files. The clone took one and flipped through it to make sure it was current and it was; the two on the top belonged to the Uchiha couple. After making sure that everything was left the way it was before entering, the clone slipped the file under the door. It then disappeared back into the wood of the door.

Yamato removed his hand from the door and let out a heavy sigh; he had used up almost half his chakra, but it was necessary. He picked up the file and turned his attention to his comrade.

"Got it," Yamato said. "We were lucky that there were more several copies of it."

Genma smirked behind his mask. "Then we don't have to worry too much about Danzou. Well we better get out of here, time is almost up," he said then pointed down at the two Root members. "These two are bound to wake up any second."

The two jounins left quickly and back to the roof top where their things were at. With no desire to waste any time, they just gathered their things and went directly to the Hokage's office.

—xXx—

Tsunade stood at the window of her office, looking out at the view of the village. Her desk has been replaced earlier, but she didn't want to do any paper work. She had spent some time going through the files Shizune and Kakashi had gathered awhile back, but didn't find anything that would benefit the young Uchiha family. One thing that did catch her attention was a letter in the Yondaime's file; well it was better to consider it a note than a letter. She studies the hand writing and noticed it had been hand written by Namikaze Minato himself.

The note didn't make any sense and she assumed that it was because he didn't want the elders to understand if they ever looked at it. She let the words of the Yondaime run through her mind. If she remembered correctly, Minato would leave difficult clues or riddles behind that would decipher the meaning of things. He only did this if the message was very important, but the only problem was it didn't state to whom the note was supposed to be for.

_He will befriend a fan and spring. They are the key to his loneliness._

"Befriend a fan and spring…" Tsunade said to herself. "Who is Minato referring to?"

She was dissecting the note by parts, it would be easier to decipher this way. Tsunade was going to keep this to herself for now before getting any of the others to help. Two people she did want to inform first were Jiraiya and Kakashi. Because the copy ninja had the fourth as a sensei and Jiraiya was the sensei of the fourth, they may have some information of this mysterious note. If the two have no knowledge of the note every being written, they would at least have a better chance of deciphering the meaning.

"How would a person befriend a fan and spring?" Tsunade questioned herself.

The Hokage felt two other chakras in her office and turned around to see who it was. She thought it was odd for two ANBU ninjas to be in her office, but then again, it could have something to do with the elders. The blond gathered a little bit of chakra in her finger tips so that she would be ready to knock them out if needed to. When they removed their mask, she was revealed to know it was only Yamato and Genma.

"Were you two able to get the file of the target bounties?" she asked, taking her seat behind her desk.

Yamato nodded and gave the file to the Hokage. "We were lucky that Danzou had several copies."

Tsunade took the file and opened it up to see what Root was planning. Upon opening it, she couldn't help feel sadden at the sight of Sasuke's and Sakura's bounties on the top.

"Did anyone spot you there?" Tsunade asked as she flipped through the papers.

"No," answered Genma. "We left no trace of our presence and made sure we weren't sighted."

"Good," she said as she continued to go thought the file. "I haven't received news-"

A knock on the door interrupted the Hokage from speaking further. Tsunade tried to guess who was at the door before granting whomever it was entrance. She narrowed her eyes at the door; if it was Shizune, the brunet would have just entered without knocking.

"Tsunade, it is urgent that we speak with you," a voice said from the other side.

The Hokage cursed; the elders were outside her office doors. They were the only ones that would call her without the suffixes. This met trouble for Tsunade. "The two of you get out of here," she said in a low voice as she placed the file in her hand away. "I'll send Shizune to speak with you later." The two jounins nodded, knowing exactly who it was at the door. They placed their mask back on and left in a puff of smoke. Tsunade locked the drawer and then took a deep breath. "Enter," Tsunade said calmly.

The two elders entered the office and took their seats in front of the Hokage's desk. Though hard to believe, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were the elders when the third Hokage first got the title. Tsunade hated them ever since they took the title of village elder. When she became Hokage, wanted to remove them from their position, but the rules clearly state that a new elder can only be appointed if the current one dies or denounces their position. They were in their late seventies already, but have never considered denouncing their position.

"What is the problem that needs immediate attention?" Tsunade asked.

"This is the problem," the female elder, Koharu, said. She took out two pieces of paper out of her sleeve and placed it on the desk. "We wouldn't be surprised if you are aware of this already?"

The papers were of the bounties belonging to Sasuke and Sakura. Her assumption had been proven right; the elders and Root knew of the bounties before she did and were planning something. For the elders to come in to talk to her, Tsunade knew right away what the elders wanted her do to. She was to announce out that if anyone were to ever come in contact with either one of the missing ninjas, they were to report their sighting right away. Ninjas were suppose to engage them to bring them in, dead or alive.

"It wouldn't do us any good," Tsunade said leaning back into her chair. "They're stronger than most of the ninjas in the Leaf and it will only cost us more lives."

"Tsunade, we know that, but consider announcing this to the entire village," Homura, the male elder, said. "It's to the keep the village safe. If Uchiha and Haruno were to ever enter the village, who knows what Konoha will be reduced to. We want all the villagers to be safe."

Tsunade folded her arms across her chest. "And how will informing the villagers keep them safe?" she questions. "All you're doing is basing things on assumptions; we need solid evidence if this information is going to go out to everyone." She needed to stop the elders from getting what they wanted. "Keeping it within the ninjas is good enough and we don't need to put fear into the villagers' lives."

"We know your relation with Haruno Sakura, but you can't let that cloud your judgments on what is right for the village," Koharu said. "If you do not wish to inform the entire village, then we will do it with the help of Danzou of course."

Tsunade was pissed; the elders were willing to act without her to get something out to the entire village. "Fine, do what you think is best," she said. "But I will not be responsible for lives lost because of this."

"Understandable," Koharu said as she and Homura got up from her seats. "But we assure you that no lives will be lost except for the enemies'."

The elders left the room. Tsunade was now beyond pissed, she was furious. She had accomplish one thing, but now had to deal with another problem. Her bad luck was really getting to her.

Shizune entered in the office right after the elders left. She suspected something had happen or they wouldn't meet with Tsunade at all. Usually it was Tsunade who went to them because the problem involved Naruto, but having the elders go to her met trouble.

"Shizune," Tsunade said, getting up from her seat. "Personally inform Anko, Genma, and Yamato to meet at the roof top of the mansion tomorrow at noon. You will then lead them to the garden to meet with me."

"Hai," she answered.

The Hokage opened the door of her office. "I'm taking the rest of the day off."

* * *

It was nightfall in the Rain village. The rain had stopped temperately, but Jiraiya knew it wasn't nature's doing. He sat in the belly of his toad with two Rain ninjas he was able to capture. One had been turned into a frog because of lack of corporation; this caused fear in the other ninja and he start talking.

"His jutsus are quite fearsome," the Rain shinobi said. "But the true horror of Pein-sama is not his jutsus." Jiraiya cocked a brow at the man. "The true horror lies in his strong and ruthless heart of blades. Those two might threaten his ideals are crushed without remorse."

"What did Pein do?"

"He didn't just kill only Hanzou, but also his family," the ninja said. "After murdering his parents, wife and children, he extended his terror to all of Hanzou's relatives and friends, even their babies." The man's face turn to that of fear mixed with sadness. "And then, after burning all their houses, he turned to clients of the village that maintained connections, killing all... everything was reduced to noting."

The sannin was shocked. "What else do you know?" Jiraiya asked.

"I'm not going to tell an outsider anymore," the ninja yelled.

Jiraiya finally got fed up and knocked the guy unconscious. The one that had been turned into a toad just sat there, minding its own business. Jiraiya stared at the two and tried to place the pieces of the puzzle together. It still wasn't enough information, but he did learn about some shocking things he never image would be true.

The civil war was over with the Akatsuki being the victor, Pein was the victor. The reason why Pein was considered a legend among his followers was because he destroyed Amagakure all on his one. The sannin couldn't believe it, for the leader, Salamander Hanzou, to lose against Pein was unimaginable. No one knew how the Amagakure leader was killed or what jutsus Pein knew.

* * *

_They stood on the soaked battle field; some of their comrades dead, others still clinging onto their lives. The ground was slightly ruptured and there were puddles of blood. The rain poured down heavily making it a bit difficult to see things clearly far off in the distance. Jiraiya was wounded and Tsunade was supporting him up. Orochimaru stood in a fighting stands, ready to attack. They stood in front of a large salamander and on top stood its master, Hanzou. The Amagakure leader wore what looked like an inhaler over his mouth and his eyes were shadowed by a usual head band._

"_This battle…in all likelihood will end in Konoha's victory…" Hanzou said through the mouth piece. "I'll spare you your lives."_

"_I don't need your mercy!" Jiraiya yelled out. "I can still fight!"_

"_Jiraiya don't," Tsunade said._

"_Quit provoking him unless you want him to kill you," Orochimaru said to his teammate._

_Hanzou looked down at the three Leaf ninjas. "The three of you are strong… Even within this strife, you survived…" Orochimaru released his fighting stand as he and his teammates stated up that Hanzou. "I, Hanzou...will hereby honor you as the Sannins of Konoha."_

_Orochimaru and Tsunade looked confused; they didn't understand why the enemy would give them a title like that. Jiraiya on the other hand looked up at the man in anger, he wanted to continue fighting._

"_In exchange for your lives, you shall refer to yourselves as such," Hanzou said._

_The man and his summoning disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the three sannin on the raining battle field._

* * *

Jiraiya sighed; the past was seemed so long ago. Jiraiya stepped out of his toad's belly into another part of the toad. He made a few hand signs and something came out of his mouth; there stood a special toad. Its body was unusually; the amphibian was spilt in the middle with a long large scroll in between its body.

"Jiraiya!" the toad yelled out. "What the hell do you think you're doing bring me out here again?" Jiraiya smirked up at the toad. "You know quite well about Naruto's Key."

"No worries, there isn't any training," the sannin said. "Certain circumstances have me wanting you to stay out here for a short time."

"What's going on?" the toad said suspiciously.

"I'll be fighting a slightly tough opponent," Jiraiya said.

"Someone so strong that you need to let me get away beforehand?" the toad said with sarcasm as if the answer was obvious.

"This is just in case. I need to stamp the storage release order now." The toad sighed and unrolled part of the large document. One the square space, the sannin placed his hand there and some smoke admitted out. "I shouldn't be long," Jiraiya said when done. "But if anything happens to me, store yourself in Naruto."

"Jiraiya!" the toad yelled out loudly, rolling back the document. "What the hell is going on? I'm the key to reinforce the Fourth's seal if it weakens to the point the Kyuubi has more control of Naruto. Minato trusted the key's jutsu to you so that you can help the boy."

"I know that, but I think it should go to Naruto now."

"I completely disagree with you," the toad yelled out. "Remember what happened when you convinced me to twist the shishou seal just a bit."

"I know, I know." Jiraiya sighed. "Minato split the Kyuubi chakra for a reason, but I don't understand why he would seal it in his own child."

"Who knows? Perhaps Naruto happened to be his most or only viable option for the jutsu… or if not, surely wanting to leave power behind for one's child is the very definition of parental love."

"Minato does things with a reason," Jiraiya said. "He knew something of grave importance and it must have been because of that of something he chose to entrust the Kyuubi chakra to his own son…."

"You're thinking too deep," the toad said. "Anyways, who are you fighting against?"

"The Akatsuki," Jiraiya answered. "I need to find out more information."

"Jiraiya, are you crazy?" the toad yelled. "Didn't Tsunade specifically tell you not to engage the Akatsuki?" Jiraiya raised a brow at the toad. "I heard your conversation with her and she told you not to do anything stupid."

"I'm not doing anything stupid, I'm just going to gather more information," Jiraiya said, arguing back. "I have a feeling that Akatsuki has something to do with the Kyuubi." Jiraiya's attitude turned serious. "I've begun to doubt whether the Kyuubi was actually a natural occurring disaster that happened to strike Konoha." He looked directly up at the toad. "I'm certain that it was the result of a very intentional summoning and the only one capable of something like this is the founder of the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Madara."

The toad laughed, croaking in between. "We both know that Uchiha Madara lived at the founding of Konoha. There's no way he would have been alive when the Kyuubi attacked. We also know he was defeated by the Shodaime at the Valley of the End."

"Still, I have a really bad feeling…" Jiraiya said. "…a premonition that just won't go away."

* * *

The night sky was filled with rain clouds, but not a drop of water fell. Far off in the distance, the moon night and stars be seen. Itachi stood at the opening of the cave, looking down at the village with his onyx eyes; things were going according to plan. By tomorrow, the Akatsuki would be completely dead. The decoy he was depending on would draw Pein out for him with ease.

"We shall see how strong you really are Pein," Itachi said to no one in particular.

The Uchiha walked back into the cave to rest, he would need all the chakra and physical strength he had to win against Pein and Konan. Even with the help of Kisame, it still may not be enough to defeat the leader of the Akatsuki.

* * *

Curtains shielded all the windows, leaving the room in darkness. Using a candle light, Kakashi quickly scribbled what he needed to say onto a piece of parchment he was sending to Tsunade. He didn't want to wake Naruto since he had slept late. The blond kept on insisting to leave the candle night on for him so that he could read a little more of the book, despite Kakashi's orders to go to bed. Believe it or not, Naruto was really getting into the book and taking his time reading it.

When he was done, the copy ninja folded the paper and placed a jutsu on it. The paper folded into a bird, hopped out the window, and flied off toward Konoha. Ever since he woke up, Kakashi had a weird feeling something bad was going to happen. He didn't know what or exactly when, but he couldn't shake off the feeling. Not only that, but he has been on full alert ever since they first arrived. Naruto didn't seem to sense anything unusual around, but Kakashi on the other hand couldn't shake off the suspicion that they were being watched.

Assuming that it was most likely a member from the Akatsuki, Kakashi didn't want to risk any chances, especially when it was only the two of them. It was the main reason he and Naruto never really stepped out of the room. He wanted to leave the place and head back to Konoha as soon as possible.

* * *

It was the next day and the sun had begun to rise in the distance, far away from the Hidden Rain Village. The village still had rain clouds hovering high above, but even now a drop of water hadn't pouring down yet. Jiraiya left the safety of his toad's belly in the shadow casted by his prisoner's body. Things were going smoothly as he got on to the pavement, but he failed to notice the origami paper butterflies flying nearby.

After walking for a short time, Jiraiya made the ninja entered an unusual alley way and found it filled with papers floating around in the air. The thin white sheets came toward him like a swarm of bees. It wrapped around the body, covering it completely, holding the body stiff. Some of the papers began to gather together and a figure began to appear. The figure's torso and arms formed and a paper rod in its hands. It drew the paper rod close to the body, in attempt to stab the body wrapped in the paper. Jiraiya quickly emerged from the shadow from the ninja before things turn out bad.

"Katon: Endan Jutsu!"

Jiraiya blew out a large fireball burning the most of the paper around. The smoke slowly began to clear and a body was becoming visible. The papers were piling together, changing color to give the figure detail.

"That can only be your toad-silhouette technique…" the female figure said as the paper shaped up her form.

She had short blue hair; part of it was tied into a small bun on the right said of her head. There was a white origami paper rose next to the bun. Her eyes were pale blue, almost white. Underneath her bottom lip was a piercing. Her skin was slightly tanned and she wore the coat of the Akatsuki origination.

With no other choice, the sannin released the jutsu he had placed on the ninja. "I cast the bait to catch Pein… who would have thought I ended up with you instead?" He stood up and looked at the particle form of the woman in front of him. "Konan… you've improved you jutsu… you also grew into one hell of a woman." Konan said noting and stared at the sannin emotionless. "I always thought you were dead… but all this time, you were just a bunch of paper scattered into the wind. So tell me Konan, who or what is Pein?"

The ninja Jiraiya had taken prisoner looked over that woman in shock. "You're Konan-sama… the angel of Pein-sama." He turned around and pointed at the sannin. "He's an intruder!"

"Leave now," she ordered. The ninja left quickly and she turned her attention back to the white haired sannin. "You don't need to know who Pein is, sensei." The sheets of paper began to build together and form wings on her back. "But his will is to have you killed."

The sheets of paper formed into the end of the sword and shot down at Jiraiya. The sannin jumped away speedily for the fragile looking pieces of paper were able to pierce into the concrete. Without making any hand signs, Jiraiya prepared for an attack.

"Toad oil blast!"

A blast of oil came shooting out of the sannin's mouth. Konan tried to dodge the attack, but she was unable to. The oil made her entire paper body gluey that it was difficult to move and scatter into a million pieces of paper. Jiraiya's hair stretch out long and wrapped around the female Akatsuki member.

"So tell me Konan," Jiraiya said. "Where are the other two? Are they part of the Akatsuki too? Is one of them Pein?" Memories of the past flash through his mind; the innocent faces of the children he helped were a part of Akatsuki. "A few years after I left, I stated hearing your names coming up occasionally. Any time there was trouble whoever opposed your side would winged up dead."

"You have no idea what happened to us after you left sensei," she said emotionlessly. "You don't understand what we're doing."

"You're absolutely right, I don't." Jiraiya sighed. "But there's no doubt in my mind that what Akatsuki is doing is wrong."

"That's your opinion…Jiraiya-sensei," a male voice said from above.

* * *

Itachi stood at the entrance of the cave, looking at the village down below. His onyx orbs scanned over the surroundings down below as he searched for a certain chakra. When he finally found what he was searching for, he smirked; things were going better than he had anticipated.

He turned back into the cave to wake his partner. They had better set out if they wanted to interfere the battle before the victor was decided. After the Akatsuki was completely annihilated, there was only one thing left the Uchiha had to do.

"Get up Kisame," Itachi ordered. The Mist ninja sat up. "We're heading out soon."

"Finally!" the blue shark like man said eagerly. "I was getting bored just sitting around waiting."

Itachi walked over to the opening of the cave once again and let his onyx eyes change into the crimson orbs of the Sharingan. Kisame strapped on his large sword to his back and looked out into the distance.

"I sense two strong chakras," the Mist ninja said. "One belongs to Pein and the other one seems vaguely familiar."

They watched as several large buildings began to crumble as two large summoning fought one another.

"The other chakra belongs to the legendary sannin Jiraiya," the Uchiha said.

* * *

It was only seven in the morning and it was pouring down hard in the village of Konoha. Tsunade stood in her office window starting out the gloomy wet view of the village. The weather wasn't helping her feel at ease, it was only making her worry more. Shizune was in the office and knew exactly how her mentor was feeling.

"This damn rain won't stop…" Tsunade said.

"There isn't anything to worry about Tsunade-sama," the brunette said. "I'm sure Jiraiya-sama will return back very soon and-"

"No, he won't…" the Hokage said interrupting her first apprentice. She turned around with a smile on her face. "That's my bet, anyways. And we all know how my bets turn out."

Shizune had a small sad smile on her face; she knew that Tsunade was putting an act, but deep down inside, the older woman was crying. Not wanting to disturb the Hokage any more, Shizune left the room quietly.

"Always trying to act cool…" The Hokage chuckled lightly to herself. "If you make it back here, you won't have to put on a tough front for me any more…"

* * *

Jiraiya was forcefully kicked trough a thick wall. He quickly focused his chakra into his feet and stood his ground on the water. His body was in a completely different form, also known as Hermit mode. In this form, he was able to use the abilities of a toad and several powerful jutsus.

"Jiraiya-chan," the small elderly female toad on his left shoulder said. "Your arm was almost completely cut off."

On the sannin's shoulder were two small elderly toads, also known as the Ni Dai Sennin, the two great hermits. The female one, Kaa-san, was on the sannin's left shoulder and the male, Tou-san, was on the other shoulder. They didn't have an actually name; everyone just referred to the Ni Dai Sennin as if they were their parents.

Blood was beginning to pour out of the large wound on his left arm. He was able to avoid the surprise attack in time before his left arm was completely slashed off. Ripping the sleeve of his shirt, Jiraiya quickly wrapped it tightly around the wounds to slow and stop the bleeding.

Jiraiya looked up to see his attacker. There the Akatsuki leader stood, with five others, all dressed in the black coat with the red clouds. All of them had the same ripple like patter eyes of the Rinnegan and unusual piercings over their faces. They weren't clones at all; each one had different physical features. Jiraiya cursed; he didn't understand why there were six with the Rinnegan eyes when it only belonged to one. That one was once a student of Jiraiya, many years ago.

"Tell me who you really are?" Jiraiya yelled up. "Are you Nagato or Yohiko?

"We are all Pein," all six said as they jumped down to attack all at once.

* * *

Two Akatsuki stood at the center of the Rain Village. They wore their straw hats, hiding their face from all eyes.

"Who do you want to fight against?" Itachi asked his partner.

"Do you really have to ask me Itachi?" Kisame questioned. The missing Mist ninja headed toward the direction where the strongest chakra was coming from. "You already know what my answer is."

Itachi watch his partner leave as he himself headed toward the only female member of the organization.

The Sharingan user reached the building where Pein and Konan were rumored to be at. Itachi entered the dark building and immediately he found himself being wrapped up in sheets of paper.

"What do you think you're doing here," Konan said as she stepped forward. She removed the straw hat to get a better look of the intruder. "You were supposed to go after the Kyuubi." The Sharingan user didn't say a word. "Tell me, why are you here Itachi?"

"To measure my capability," was all he answered.

Konan's eyes widen; she quickly let her body scatter into many pieces of paper as Itachi's body exploded. When the smoke cleaned, her body began to form itself again. Her pale blue eyes scared the room, searching for the chakra of the Uchiha.

"Tell me Konan-san," the voice of Itachi said. "What is Pein's weakness?" She sent paper swords toward the voice. "Tell me and maybe I shall spare you life." Again she sent more of her sharp paper sword toward the source of the voice. "Attacking me like that is useless Konan-san."

Getting fed up with the Uchiha's game Konan scattered into thousand pieces of paper. Each piece turned into a tip of a sword and shot out in all directions. After several minutes pasted, Konan's body began to form back. She knew Itachi was still around, but the only way to catch him was for him to come out and attack.

When she least expected it, a large amount of oil came pouring down. The female Akatsuki member quickly moved away, she didn't need that had happen against Jiraiya to happen again. Sensing Itachi's chakra behind her, she quickly turned around and stabbed a sharp paper rod through him.

Unfortunately for her, it wasn't the real Itachi just another one of his clones. The clone exploded and threw the young woman into the wall. She coughed up some blood and looked up, only to be drenched in oil. Itachi grab hold of her neck with his left hand and held her up. Her oily hands tried to grab hold of Itachi's hand to pray it open, but it didn't do any good.

"Tell me what I need to know Konan-san?" Itachi ordered as he crimson eyes bore deep into her pale blue orbs. He didn't get one answer from her as she struggled to free herself from the grasp around her neck. "Since you do not wish to cooperate with me, I have no other choice."

Itachi threw her to the other end of the room as Konan threw several shuriken stars at him. The Uchiha threw several kunais, canceling out her attack. Without making any hand sighs, he blew out a huge fireball, engulfing anything with oil. Konan tried to disperse herself, but the oil prevented her from doing so. The oil was fueling the fire as it burned her.

"You won't be able to escape Itachi," she yelled out at him. "Pein will kill you."

The Uchiha watched with emotionless eyes as the female Akatsuki member burned. Itachi used the transformation jutsu and disguised himself as Konan as he left the building toward the battle.

* * *

Jiraiya had finally defeated one of the six forms of Pein, but he received a severe wound to his right shoulder. The wound on his left arm had finally stopped bleeding, but he had difficulty using the limb.

The sannin was able to figure out some things about Pein, but it still wasn't enough information. That wasn't the only thing keeping Jiraiya there, a prophecy he was told of long before was falling into place.

"Jiraiya-chan, you can't go on like this," Tou-san said. "You're wounded badly and you have to run for it now!"

"Not yet," Jiraiya said. "I can't allow the two of you to be hurt… please return home."

"Excuse me," Kaa-san yelled. "You'll be killed if you go out there again."

"I know, but I don't think anyone will ever get this close to Pein again, especially if I run now." Jiraiya stared at the corpse in front of him. "This is all in line with the Great Sage's prophecy. It's time for me to make my choice!"

"But Jiraiya-chan," Kaa-san said. "We can't leave you here all by yourself to fight them."

"Don't worry about me," Jiraiya said. "But please take this corpse of Pein with you… take it with all the information we've learned back to Tsunade…"

"If that's all, Kaa-san can take care of it all by herself," Tou-san said.

Jiraiya was about to argue, but Kaa-san cut him off. "You better not be late for dinner!"

"Don't worry we won't be," Tou-san said to his wife, smiling. "We'll have Jiraiya-chan join us too."

Kaa-san smiled at the two then jumped off Jiraiya's shoulder. She took hold of the coat the corpse was in and jumped into the water.

* * *

It was early afternoon and the blond knuckle head ninja was still in bed, asleep and snoring loudly. Kakashi entered the room with a large tray completely filled with food and a very large bowl of ramen. He placed everything down and went to wake his student. He first nudged the blond, but the only response he got was a groan from the boy. He nudged the young male again and this time Naruto groaned then waved his arms as if he was swatting bugs away. Getting annoyed by that the blond didn't want to wake up, Kakashi flipped the bed mattress. Naruto feel into the ground with a loud thump. Thinking that they were being attacked, the blond pulled out a kunai from under the bed and stood in a fighting stance, fully alert.

"Who's there?" Naruto yelled. "Come out and fight me!"

The white haired man cocked a brow at his student; that was a very interesting to watch.

"Brunch is calling you," Kakashi said pointing to the large bowl of ramen.

"RAMEN!"

The blond literally dived for the bowl of ramen and began to devour the contents without bothering to brush his teeth. Kakashi just sighed and grabbed his share of food to eat before it all disappeared.

* * *

The rain had finally stopped and the sun was shining brightly over Konoha. Tsunade was up at the garden, seated on the railing of a pagoda by a large pond, taking her time drinking her sake. It has been three days since Jiraiya left for the Hidden Rain Village, but he still hasn't sent anything, help nor information. She assumed he was having some difficulty gathering information or her teammate was actually taking her warning seriously for once.

She didn't want to be in or around the mansion ever since the elders came into her office yesterday to convince her to do something she didn't want to do. Unfortunately, the elders were willing to proceed with or without her support either way. Root's involved with the elders' plans only make her more furious. To think Danzou had the nerve to form the group behind the Sandaime. The empty sake bottle in her hand broke into pieces as Tsunade's grip had tightened. Just wondering what the elders were planning with Root got her to assume that something bad was going to happen to Sasuke and Sakura.

She dropped the broken bottle pieces on to the ground and grabbed another bottle of sake. The Hokage was about to take a sip when she noticed a paper bird in front of her. She held out her hand and it landed, turning back into a normal folded parchment. She opened the letter and read what Kakashi had written. Tsunade understood what his plans were then placed the note away in her pocket to dispose of it later.

"Looks like we're both uneasy today Kakashi," Tsunade said up to the sky.

The blond took another sip of her alcohol. She heard footsteps and turned to see Shizune, Genma, Anko, and Genma walked over to the pagoda.

"Good you're all here," Tsunade said. "I just received a letter from Kakashi. He and Naruto are heading back today and will be back around late afternoon or early evening."

"Is it wise for them to come back at a time like this?" Shizune asked. "The elders are beginning to do things without consulting you about it."

"I know what you mean, but Kakashi feels someone has been spying on them," Tsunade said. "If it's the Akatsuki, he doesn't want to risk having Naruto taken."

"What did the elders want yesterday Tsunade-sama?" Genma asked.

The Hokage grind her teeth. "They wanted me to make the announcement about the bounties regarding Sasuke and Sakura to the entire village." She turned her fierce glare at the pond. "I declined on doing so, but they took matters into their own hands."

"Do you think the elders will restrict Naruto's movements?" Yamato asked. "They could order Root ANBU members to trail him wherever he goes."

"I don't know what they're planning," Tsunade said. "We can only try to stay a step ahead of them and be prepared for anything."

Suddenly the water in the pound began to swirl into a whirlpool. Tsunade kept her eyes on the pond, everyone else got into a fighting stance. The Hokage recognized the technique and turned her body around to face the pond fully. When a familiar toad surfaced, Tsunade jumped on top of the water.

"Kaa-san," Tsunade said as she grabbed hold of what the toad was holding. "Why are you here?"

"Take hold of the body," Kaa-san said. The other four ninjas come onto the water. "That's one of the bodies of the Akatsuki leader."

Yamato created a wooden stretcher for the corpse to be placed on. Genma and Anko lifted the body out of the water and placed it on the stretcher.

"This is one of the bodies of the Akatsuki leader," Tsunade said. "How many bodies does he have?"

"There are six in total," Kaa-san said. "Jiraiya-chan called Tou-san and me out to help him fight. Tou-san is with him as we speak, and things aren't going too well for Jiraiya-chan."

Tsunade's eyes widened. "He actually engaged the Akatsuki!" Shizune looked over at her mentor, worried. "Kaa-san, you have to take me to Jiraiya now. We have to get him out of there."

* * *

Jiraiya and Tou-san swam in the depths of the water, trying to find any of the five forms left of Pein. It would be easier for them to use the element of surprise to attack him because they still weren't sure that Pein's abilities were. When they finally spotted one, his back was turned toward them. Jiraiya with Tou-san still on his shoulder quietly emerged from the water. The elder toad clapped his front legs together and water harpoons shot out toward Pein. Even with his back turned, Pein was still able to dodge the attack easily. The attack pinpointed their location; Pein had waited, intending for the sannin to come out on his own for an attack.

Jiraiya quickly got out of the water to invade an incoming attack from the four that come out of their hiding. When he least expected, the sannin was forcefully killed up into the air. Jiraiya coughed up a large amount of blood. His throat was caving in and a cut close to his jugular was making it worse. His body landed harshly down on the let cement.

"Jiraiya-chan," Tou-san yelled out. "Get up now. We have to get you out of here."

Four forms of Pein were closing in on another attack. The small toad elder couldn't do anything to stop them from attacking. Seconds before the attack came in contact with the sannin someone stepped forward and forced each one away.

"I never knew you had different bodies Pein," Kisame said with a grin on his face. "Who would have thought that leader of the Akatsuki was crazy."

All five gathered together in front of the missing Mist ninja. "You have no right to be here Kisame," the one with spiky blond hair said. "Don't interfere in something that doesn't involve you." Kisame drew out his huge sword, Samehada. The Akatsuki leader could tell the former member of his organization wasn't going to corporate with him. "Get out of my way."

Kisame charged at one of the five as four water clones emerged from the water to attack the other four forms Pein had.

Jiraiya was losing it; he needed immediate medical attention. Tou-san noticed this right away and didn't want to waste any more time. The toad jumped off of the sannin's shoulder and claps his front legs together. A head of a lager toad emerged up from the water and stared at Tou-san.

"We need to get Jiraiya-chan out of here," Tou-san told the toad. "He needs to Tsunade to heal him right away."

The large toad opened its mouth and its tongue wrapped around Jiraiya's body. Quickly but carefully, the large toad drew the badly injured sannin into his mouth. Tou-san jumped in after and the large toad closed its mouth and submerged down into the water.

* * *

Tsunade kept reasoning with Kaa-san to have her bring them to help Jiraiya, but Kaa-san wouldn't take her. Shizune, Anko, and Genma had just turned after bring the body to the morgue so that Tsunade could get a full autopsy of the body later.

"Kaa-san you said so yourself things weren't looking good for Jiraiya," Tsunade said. "We can't waste any more time."

"I understand your worries Tsunade, but I can't take you there." Kaa-san looked away from the Hokage. "The battle is his alone."

Ripples were beginning to form in the middle of the pond. Suddenly, a large toad appeared and opened its mouth.

"Tsunade, you have to help Jiraiya-chan!" Tou-san yelled out.

The female sannin quickly rushed over with Kaa-san and Shizune right behind her. The blond checked her teammates pulse and found it very faint. She saw the cut near his jugular and went to heal it right away. After a few seconds, Tsunade cursed; his heart beat was slowly falling and she needed to get the man to the hospital right away.

"Yamato make another one of those stretchers," Tsunade ordered. "Shizune, I need you to heal his arm first." Shizune did as she was told. After Yamato made the stretcher, he brought it over to the Hokage. "Genma, Anko, I need our help to lift Jiraiya's body onto the stretcher." All five carefully lifted Jiraiya's body out of the toad and onto the stretcher. "Get him to the hospital right away. Anko, go on ahead and tell the front desk I ordered an emergency room to be set up immediately."

All four left immediately to the hospital. Tsunade turned her attention to the two toad elders.

"You two should go back," she said. "I'll handle things from here."

The large toad disappeared. "We're coming with you Tsunade," Tou-san said. "There is no way we're leaving Jiraiya-chan like that."

Tsunade knew exactly how they felt. She picked them other up and headed toward the hospital.

* * *

The three forms of the Akatsuki leader stood up on a ledge. The one with spiky blond hair and the blind one stared down at the former member of the origination. The larger one of the three looked over his wounds.

Spots of blood could be found everywhere; the water around was dyed with crimson liquid. Kisame was breathing heavily; he was able to take down two, the corpulent one and the one with spike pricings on his head. He was able to wound the largely build one, but it wasn't enough to cause a significant amount of damage. After fighting Jiraiya, Pein's bodies had weakened down a bit. Without the major help, it would have been difficult for Kisame to be able to get as far as he has.

Unfortunately for the former Mist ninja he was now low on chakra. He didn't have any major injuries, but the former mist ninja did lose a considerable amount of blood from several stab wounds. There were many cuts upon his body, but none were life threatening. He used his sword to support his body as he tried to use the little time to rest his body. There was also a bit of blood on the corner of his lips.

The largely build one came charging at the former Mist ninja from behind. Grabbing the hilt of his sword tightly with his right hand, Kisame swung the sword the moment Pein came into attacking range. He's left arm was completely shredded off. The severed limb landed in the water and crimson liquid dyed the water. Kisame prepared for a final attack, but he was kicked into the water by the blind one. Kneeing on top of the water, the former Mist ninja coughed up blood.

"You don't stand a chance against us Kisame," the one blind one said. "Give up and accept your death."

The shark like man looked at the two in front of him, watching them closely to anticipate which was going to attack first. Suddenly chakra strings with explosive tags of them wrapped around the two. The larger one struggled to get free only triggered the tags to go off. The body fell lifelessly on to the ground with a loud thump. Shurikens came hurling down at the dead body, hitting all the major arteries and organs; regardless of the last attack, this was the only way to make sure the body was completely lifeless. The blind one stood still, waiting for the attacker to make the first move.

Completely unexpected, the chakra stings tightened around the body, digging into the skin of its victim. It would dig in so deep that it could have sliced the body into pieces if it wasn't for the bones. Whenever the body struggled, one of the explosive tags went off. When the body finally died, it fell into the water with blood seeping through the wounds.

Kisame didn't even know what was going on; what he just witnessed was nothing he had ever seen before. He assumed that it was Itachi's doing, but the Uchiha was nowhere in sight. Then again, the former Mist ninja had never seen the technique before; Itachi usually had unknown techniques and would only use them if the occasion allows him to. The only form of Pein left looked around to see who had attacked.

Konan was spotted by the two males. Kisame feared for the worst; Itachi had been defeated by the angel. She turned her glaze toward Pein then at Kisame.

"Konan," Pein called out. The said person turned to face the man. "Finish off Kisame."

She said nothing and appeared behind the Akatsuki leader. The blue haired woman pulled out a kunai with an explosive tag on it and attempted to stab the weapon into Pein. The man jumped away quickly and glared at the woman.

"It seems you were the victory against Konan," Pein said, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Itachi…"

A puff of smoke engulfed the body and revealed the Uchiha. The raven haired man pulled out three kunais and shurikens and threw them at the Akatsuki leader. The blond jumped away and right behind him appeared Itachi. Grabbing onto the collar of the coat, Itachi threw the man out toward the water. Drawing out another three kunais and shurikens, the raven haired man threw them at Pein. When the weapons pierced the body, it revealed a water clone of Pein. Itachi eyes widen when he felt a sword slice through his left arm.

"You don't stand a chance against me Itachi," Pein said. Itachi vanished and Pein turned around to block a kick from the real Uchiha. "I see through all your tricks."

Another Itachi appeared behind Pein to attack, but he blond moved away quickly. Unfortunately, the one that attempted to attack him first was a clone. Assuming that the one standing was the real Uchiha, Pein took his sword and stabbed it through Itachi.

Blood began to run down from Itachi's mouth, his clothing began to soak up the crimson liquid, and blood began to drip from the blade to the ground. Pein twist the blade, making Itachi groan in pain. The Akatsuki leader then jumped back, leaving the blade where it was. He made a few hand signs and black blades shot through Itachi's body. The Uchiha's body felt to the ground lifelessly as a pool of blood began to form around it. The blond turned to face Kisame, but he ninja was nowhere in sight. He turned around and found the body that he had just killed wasn't Itachi but Kisame. Suddenly his surroundings began to change.

"You stated you saw through all my tricks Pein," Itachi's voice said. "But you still can't kill me."

Pein felt a sword stabbed through him, but he didn't see the blade. Again he felt the shape pain of a blade penetrating through his body. The Akatsuki leader saw no one, but the pain wouldn't go away; each time he felt a blade pierced through his body, another would follow right after.

When it finally stopped, Pein was on the ground coughing a bit of blood. Itachi stood six feet away from the man, staring down at him with emotionless eyes. Pein stood up and charged at Itachi. Inches away from coming in contact with the Uchiha, hot black flames began to appear and spread over his body. Paying no attention to the flames, Pein grabbed Itachi by the collar. Unfortunately for the Akatsuki member, it wasn't the real Uchiha. The clone exploded into black flames, burning everything in its range.

Up on the mountain looking over the Hidden Rain Village stood the older Uchiha. He watched as the black flames of Amaterasu spread over the village. After several minutes have passed, the flames completely disappeared as dark smoke rose up into the air.

Itachi closed his eyes and let them chance back into this his onyx orbs. His vision was getting impaired that he needed to rest his eyes. The last member of the origination placed his straw hat back on and left toward his next destination, the borders of Fire and Waterfall.

* * *

A figure hidden in the shadows watched the older Uchiha brother like a hawk. When Itachi disappeared in a puff of smoke, the man turned to look at the Hidden Rain Village or at least what remained of it. The black flames of Amaterasu had vanished and parts of the village were left in ruins.

He looked at the spot he had last seen the Uchiha. Even though Itachi's ninja skills were impressive, he didn't sense the present of the person that had been watching him for quite some time already.

"What is your next move Itachi…?"

* * *

At the door of the hospital, a group of medics with a wheeled stretcher were waiting. When Genma and Yamato arrived, the medics transferred the male sannin the wheeled stretcher and rushed him immediately into to the prepared emergency room. Everyone in the hall quickly moved aside for the medics to get through with the injured man. Genma, Anko, and Yamato stood by the doors of the emergency room watching as medics ran in and out of the door. Tsunade arrived at the hospital right away and set the Ni Dai Sennin outside with the three jounins.

"Watch the doors," she ordered the three. "Don't let the elders or Danzou enter no matter what they say." The three jounins nodded as the Hokage opened the door of the emergency room to help the medics. "When Kakashi and Naruto arrive back, don't tell Naruto about Jiraiya's condition," she said then entered the room.

A team of medics had gathered in the room and began to heal the sannin. The man was stripped down completely so that it would be easier spot any bruising and heal the broken body. Shizune was giving out orders to the medics as she and another medic tried to keep Jiraiya in stable conditions. The medics were struggling to heal Jiraiya's broken body; there were too many damages that it wasn't going to be easy. His body was covered with blood and wounds; it was difficult to actually believe that the person on the stretcher was Jiraiya. A medic inserted an intubation tube into Jiraiya's mouth and into his trachea.

"He had internal bleeding!"

"There are too many fractured and broken bones!"

"Tsunade-sama I can't find his pulse," Shizune said worryingly.

Her heart sank like a ton of bricks; if Shizune was unable to find a pulse that was a bad sign to the blond Hokage. The brunette never lied whenever when it came to a patient's life. Tsunade quickly went over the almost lifeless body of her former teammate, poured chakra into her hands, and began to search for a pulse. The Hokage ran her hands over the man's bloody chest to find a heartbeat. She wasn't going to give up on him; he still had many things to accomplish and dying wouldn't do him any good. When she finally found a faint pulse, the Hokage focused on getting it up.

Tsunade cursed. "You can't die yet," she mumbled. "Six ribs and both arms were broken and you also had many internal organs ruptured…all because of me…and you still survived." Tears began to slowly gather in her eyes. "When things when wrong with Naruto's training…you were hit was a fatal attack and you still survived…" She poured more chakra into her hands. "Damn it Jiraiya…you escaped death twice and now you're going to give up?"

* * *

Special appreciation to my great fanfic buddy: animequeen100.

**Hello again reader. Thank you to all of those that reviewed. It's another late update, but with a long chapter. I know there was a lot of scene jumps, but this chapter covered several days/scenes in Rain and Konoha. Yes I know this chapter only had a short SASUSAKU scene, but no worries, the next chapter will have tons of SASUSAKU moments.**

**Sorry if I spoiled things for anyone. Sorry for ending the chapter at the hospital with Jiraiya is in the emergency room fighting for his life. The wake up scene with Naruto and Kakashi, I wanted a little humor in the chapter so I decided to use them. Yes the elders are up to something and Root is working with them. Some of you may ask about Sai…there's no need to worry about him. Who could the mysterious person be that has been watching Itachi? Well I'm not going to say, but you shall find out in the later chapter.**

**To those that do reread previous chapters, you may have noticed some changes/addition to the chapters. No worries, I just read through it and found some mistakes and stuff and went back to correct it. The plot won't change at all.**

**IMPORTANT AUTHOR NOTE!!**

**Review voting!! If you review, please VOTE either:**

Yes Jiraiya should die **OR** No, Jiraiya shouldn't die.

**Review and cast your votes! Virtual treats for all!**


	27. Chap 27: Puzzle

**Hey there readers! Sorry for any mistakes. This chapter contains minor SPOILS! ENJOY!**

**Warning: There are LEMONS in this chapter! If you hate LEMONS, skip it. Don't say I didn't warn you because YOU'VE BEEN WARN!!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this fanfic.**

* * *

Chapter 27: Puzzle

For the past two days, things for the young Uchiha couple weren't any different. Sasuke usually woke up first, but he stayed in bed until his cherry blossom had awakened. He wanted to spend time with her; it didn't matter how, he wanted to spend time with her somehow. Just having her in his presence, wrap in his arms, regardless of whether she was awake or not was enough. He would run his hand up and down her back in a soothing way or stroke her cheek gently. The young husband would then stare down at her sleeping face; he wanted to wake up every day of his life with her by his side, unfortunately, it would stay a dream unless he won and survived the fight against Itachi.

When she woken up, Sasuke would place a light kiss on her forehead, leaves her bedside to dress then head out to train, without eating anything for breakfast. The pink haired kunoichi didn't mind her husband heading out like he did, she was happy that he at least stayed in bed until she had woken up instead of heading out. When Sasuke left, the cherry blossom would stay in bed awhile longer. She would move over to her husband's side of the bed and snuggle into the sheets and pillow, taking in his masculine scent. He had given her all she wanted and now the only thing she wanted for him was to return back safely. She always thought about what life would be like after the entire battle was over with. Would she be able to wake up with him at her side? Would they have a family of their own to rise? Would she have to live her life alone and never be able to feel his warmth again? Would he leave her with a child and raise him or her as a signal mother? Would she be all alone with nothing to remind her of the raven haired man? So many possibilities and questions ran through her mind.

Not wanting to ponder over those questions anymore, she got out of bed and got dressed. Afterward, the cherry blossom would always head over to the kitchen to get something healthy to eat. Within those two days, Sakura was able to finish up what she needed to make in the lab; ointments, poisons, and pills. She worked fast, not wanting to inhale the chemicals anymore than she had to. She had prepared dinner a bit early those two days because of a small headache she had. Sakura always kept everything covered so that it stayed warm if her husband was to return late.

When the young pink haired Uchiha matriarch returned to the room with the food, she noticed Sasuke's katana on the desk and knew he had return back from training. She placed the tray on the desk and turned around only to have Sasuke walking out of the steamy showers with a towel around his waist, his body dripping wet with the water, making his body shine. His hair was flopped down and he had another towel around his shoulder. Sakura always blushed a light shade of pink and turned her glaze elsewhere; she didn't want to be caught staring at him. She would quickly walk pass her husband to the bathroom without making eye contact. She would close the door quickly, strip down, and shower to cool herself down from the heat surging through her body. Sasuke would smirk at his wife reaction; her innocence was something no one could ever imitate no matter what they did.

The sun was beginning to rise in the distance, but the sunlight didn't past through the curtain, leaving the room in the dark. Two figures lay asleep, snuggled against each other between the large warm cover. In four days, they were going to depart; it was the final battle of the Uchiha brothers, the decision of whether Sakura would be able to live her life out with Sasuke or not. Each day seemed to come by faster than they wanted, but they couldn't control time.

For once Sakura had woken up earlier than Sasuke; she was forced up by the sudden nauseated feeling that wouldn't go away. She thought it was probably due to all the worries she has; she constantly worries about Sasuke and other things that it could be making her sick physically. The emotional stress was the most reasonable explanation beside pregnancy that could cause a missed period and nausea. Her smell sensitivity could have also changed due to stress.

She looked up at her husband to see that he was still fast asleep. She quietly slipped out of bed without waking Sasuke. The cherry blossom pushed up the shoulder straps on her night gown then quickly headed into the bathroom and closed the door a bit behind her as silently as she could. She kneed by the toilet as the nausea got worse. She rubber her lower abdomen gently, hopping that it would go away. Was this nauseated feeling the actual proof she needed to show that she was either indeed pregnant or way too stressed out? After about ten minutes by the toilet, Sakura still didn't vomit, but the nausea wouldn't go away. She stood up only to get down on her knees to vomit into the toilet.

Sasuke woke up and noticed his blossom was already out of bed. He sat up and saw the bathroom door half closed and sensed his wife's chakra there. The Uchiha got out of bed and headed toward the bathroom. He heard the sound of vomiting and hastily swung the door fully opened to find Sakura crouched over the toilet. Her back was turned toward him, her hands were around her stomach, and her pink locks shield her face, getting in her way. The male Uchiha kneed beside his wife and with his large hand, pulled her hair back for her. With his other hand, he massaged the sides of her neck to ease her throat.

Sakura's breaths were coming out in pants, her throat felt dry, and it hurt. She coughed a bit, but didn't vomit anymore. Her stomach felt a bit better and the nausea was gone, but she had a small headache now. Sasuke's hand stopped massaging her neck and ran his hand up and down her back. His other hand let go of her hair and combed it back with his fingers. He still didn't say anything to her and just tried to relax her body. Sakura wiped her mouth with the back of her right hand and leaned into her husband's bare chest to rest a bit.

"I'm alright Sasuke-kun," Sakura whispered.

With help from Sasuke, the young pink haired woman stood up. Sakura went over to the sink and rinsed her mouth, washed her hands, and then splashed water in her face. The male Uchiha handed her a wash cloth to dry her face. When done, Sakura set the cloth by the sink and walked out with Sasuke right behind her. She was going to head toward the dresser to get change, but Sasuke grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward the bed.

"You should rest," he said shifting his eyes toward his wife.

"I'm fine Sasuke-kun," Sakura said. She needed to think of some excuse to convince her husband. "I have been slightly dehydrated lately and it could have caused me to feel nauseated. I need to drink more fluids."

'_**Dehydration usually leads to a person fainting,'**_ Sakura's inner said. _**'The chance of dehydration causing nausea is slim.'**_

Sakura inwardly cursed at herself. _'Sasuke-kun doesn't know that.'_

Sasuke didn't buy her excuse; even though he wasn't a medic like his wife, he knew something was wrong with Sakura. He sat on the bed and tugged the woman into his arms, putting them in a position that could lead to something more. Her long slender ivory legs straddled his hips; her breasts were beginning to be exposed as her night gown slid down her shoulders. She felt something all too familiar to the lower part of her body rubbing against her through the cloth of her panties and his boxer. Her cheeks colored a light shade of pink and she lowered her glaze, away from the onyx orbs of her lover. Her slender fingers slide the night gown's shoulder straps up to prevent her chest from being exposed. The raven haired man ran his hands down her shoulder to waist and wrapped his strong lean arms around her petite figure. He nuzzled his face into the nape of her neck and kissed the tattoo of the curse seal on the nap of her neck then drew her down with him as he lay back down on the bed.

"Just sleep a little more," Sasuke said closing his eyes.

Sakura knew Sasuke wouldn't let her free from his grasp and complied. She closed her emerald orbs as her body stayed pressed against her lover's. She moved her legs so that she no longer straddled his hips in order to sleep comfortably. When her breathing was calm and she was fast asleep, Sasuke opened his eyes to reveal his Sharingan. His crimson orbs were slowly spinning as he looked at her sleeping face. The flicker of chakra he had seen three days ago bothered him and he wasn't able to confirm whether it was still there or not; he wanted to be able to analyze his wife without her knowing. He had a feeling she wasn't telling him something about her health since that day and assumed that Sakura would tell him when she thought the time was right, but she hadn't said a thing. Not wanting to wait, Sasuke decided to find out for himself.

He scanned her body's chakra network from head to toe to see if he could find anything out of the ordinary; with Sakura asleep, her chakra flow should be calm. He didn't spot any blockage or irregular flow of chakra. Everything seemed normal, until he saw the sudden flicker of charka in her lower abdomen. He narrowed his eyes slightly; whatever the flicker of chakra was, it wasn't a part of her normal chakra network. He knew it was the same flicker he had seen three days ago. Sasuke kept his eyes on her lower abdomen, waiting for the flicker of chakra to occur again. When it did, there were two sets of chakra flickering, neither belonging to Sakura. One was slightly weaker than the other, but it was visible to the Sharingan eyes. He saw the chakras flicker simultaneously again and knew the flickering chakras met something and nausea was most likely caused by it. He let his crimson orbs change back to his onyx ones and looked at his wife's calm face. It didn't matter whether the problem was minor or major, he would make sure nothing happened to her.

* * *

After the two finished their meal, Kakashi ordered Naruto to get all his things packed up. The Kyuubi vessel was bewildered as he watched his sensei pack. He knew since they were staying away from the village for a while until Tsunade ordered them to return, Naruto assumed they were going to stay at another inn so not to draw suspicion. Noticing that the silver haired man was working quickly, the blond did the same, but just stuffed his things into his traveling bag.

When everything was packed and the copy ninja made sure all their belongings were collected, he and Naruto left immediately. The blond was becoming more bewildered; why were they were leaving? The silver haired ninja didn't seem in the mood to answer questions so the Kyuubi vessel assumed Tsunade has sent a message to notifying them to return back to the village.

Kakashi didn't want to tell Naruto the true of why they were leaving; he didn't want the blond to do anything rash. Then again, the young man would always do something rash regardless of what people said to him. Keeping the still genin ranked ninja clueless was the best for the time being. Kakashi's suspicion of being watched seemed to be confirmed when he felt a chakra following them as they left the inn and the town. Naruto still didn't seem to notice and it was a good thing so far, at least until whoever it is following them reveals their identity.

* * *

Sasuke didn't sleep at all; his half lidded warm onyx orbs watched the sleeping face of this wife. They were two different people, almost complete opposites but love brought them together. His left hand slowly traced her figure, running along her skin through the silk of her nightgown, memorizing every detail of her body. The fingers of his right hand traced her cherry lips that were slightly parted as she breathed even breaths. His fingers slowly ran over her the smooth skin of her cheeks. Sakura's eye lids slowly opened, revealing her emerald orbs. She looked up at her husband with a small warm smile on her lips as his hand brushed back her pink locks.

"You didn't have to stay in bed with me," she said. "You could have gone out to train if you wanted to."

He didn't say anything to her and continues to brush her hair back with his large hand. She brought her legs over his body so that she straddling his hip. Sakura sat up as his hands ran down her body to her thighs. Her arms were placed over his toned abs; the shoulder straps of her nightgown had fallen and were now on the middle of her upper arm. Her cleavage was half way exposed to the onyx orbs of the Uchiha and her nipples were visible against the white nightgown.

Sasuke slid her closer so that she now straddled his waist. His hand ran up her thighs and in her nightgown. His cold fingers slid up her abdomen to her bare breast. He swirled and flicked her nipple with his thumbs then gave her breasts a tight squeeze. Sakura moaned lowly as her eyes closed, the pleasure she felt running through her body was something unexplainable. The nightgown had fallen around her waist, exposing her round breast to the beast. Her small hands were placed over her lover's as he continues to entertain himself with her breasts.

Sasuke's hand then ran down her side and lifted the nightgown off her body and flung it away. He sat up straight and kissed the woman forcefully yet passionately on the lips, one hand tangled in her hair, the other placed on her back. Sakura wrapped her arms around the broad shoulders of her man, kissing him back with equal force as she felt a certain part of their lower body rub against each other. A low moan escaped her, his smooth tongue slipping in between her cherry lips. The raven haired man pushed her body toward him, his chest rubbing against her breasts.

When they finally parted, their lips were only centimeters apart as they gasp for air. Though still out of breath, Sasuke claimed Sakura's lips yet again for another harsh passionate kiss. She returned it right away, pressing her body closer to his, tangling a hand in his raven locks. Her slender long ivory legs wrapped around his waist, pulling herself closer to him. Sakura's hands ran down his right shoulder then his chest, feeling every muscle her fingers came in contact with.

They parted again, both breathing heavily. Sakura's swollen cherry lips were parted and her half lidded emerald eyes stared at her lover. A small smile formed on her lips, her arms wrapped around his torso and she rested her head on his shoulder. She felt complete in his arms, safe and content to be with him. She felt his large hands running slowly up and down her back. Sasuke would occasionally place his hands in her panties, squeezing her buttock a bit. Each time he did so, she would press a certain part of her body closer to his and make him growl lowly. He knew how to pleasure her as if it was as simple as throwing a kunai. His straightforward actions were bold while hers were slightly hesitant.

Sakura decided she would tease her husband a bit before heading out to make some things to eat. Her lips ran up the side of his face, her tongue leaving a small trail of saliva, and her body pressed against his as she stood up a little. His eyes were closed as his face ran along her chest and her breasts rubbed against his cheeks. Sakura moved her legs so she no longer straddled him. She was kneeing in front of him, between his legs. The Uchiha matriarch placed her elbows on his shoulders to support herself, her teeth slowly nibbling on his right ear, and her left knee rubbing against Sasuke's member. The kunoichi smiled innocently when she heard a growl coming from Sasuke when he shifted his gaze toward her. The pink haired woman moved her head so she was facing the raven haired man. Her tongue licked Sasuke's lips slowly, leaving a wet trail of saliva. He was about to capture her tongue with his mouth, but she stuck her tongue back in her mouth and their lips smashed against each others. The male Uchiha growl when they pulled apart. Sakura giggled, pecked him on the cheek, and then got off the bed.

She picked up her nightgown and went over to the closet to get dressed. She took out a navy blue laced bra that matched the panties she was currently wearing. Sakura then took out a short black skirt and her red shirt and put it on. After dressing and taking one of Sasuke's white haori, she turned around only to bump into her husband's tone chest. He was dressed in his usual clothing, dark pants, navy blue stash, and a black sleeveless haori. Sasuke reached behind her and grabbed a roll of bandage. Sakura put on her boots and draped the haori over her shoulders. When Sasuke was done binding his hands and forearms, the Uchiha matriarch took hold of his hands and led him out of the room and into the hallway.

"It's not good to go out training with an empty stomach Sasuke-kun," Sakura said. She smiled warmly at him. "I'll make something for you to eat before you head out."

Sasuke didn't say a word to her and let the pink haired kunoichi guide him toward the kitchen. The male Uchiha wanted to go out to train, but spending time with his wife felt more important. He held on to her hand as if letting go would end the dream he was in. Sakura felt it and looked back at the man with a smile on her face.

* * *

Itachi wondered into a small town to rest; he was low on chakra and his body was physically drained of energy. He disguised himself with a jutsu and rented out a room in one of the local inns. After food was brought to him, the Uchiha released the jutsu. His onyx orbs were half lidded as he stared down at the food in front of him. He didn't eat much, only enough to satisfy his hunger. He reached into his pouch and pulled out a small folded piece of paper. He unfolded it, revealing a white powder. The Uchiha poured it into the water to let it mix then drank the liquid down his throat quickly.

He took in deep breaths afterward, sitting back in the chair to rest; the bitter taste of the liquid lingered in his mouth for a while. He leaned his head back in the chair and closed his eyes, sitting there for about half an hour. The Uchiha then headed into the bathroom to take a relaxing shower. He stripped down completely and entered the showers, turning the knob for a cold shower. He let the freezing water run down his body, drenching him. He looked up at the pouring water with his eyes closed.

"_I will kill you and revenge our clan!"_

"_After what you did to your clan, I would never consider you as family!"_

The voices of the two people who were his only family played in his mind. He opened his onyx orbs slowly, allowing the water to continue pouring down on his face and run down his body. He was only in his early twenties, but his entire body felt twice its age; all the secrets, lies, stress, and pain were slowly devouring him from inside out and pretty soon it would engulf him whole. He would be free very soon, set free after completing several more important tasks.

He turned the knob for the hot water and let the entire room steam up. The hot water rained down on him, numbing his cold body. When the Uchiha had enough, he turned off the showers and wrapped a towel around his waist. His weary eyes were beginning to deceive him, making images of his past appear; one event specifically played in his mind. That day will always play in his mind; it was the reason for the battle between him and his younger brother.

* * *

After having brunch, the young married couple returned back to their room. The raven haired man didn't go out to train; instead he sat out in the balcony and meditated on the many things going through his mind. He needed some time to ponder over things and training wouldn't get his mind off it no matter how focus he was. One thing that really bothered him the most was the flicking chakras he had saw earlier within his wife's body. The raven haired man wanted to consult his blossom about what he had saw, but he didn't know how to approach her about it; Sasuke didn't want their conversation to turn into an argument.

In the depths of his mind, Sasuke thought the chakras he saw could mean life, a new life he had help create. He kept pushing the thought aside, telling himself that it wasn't true; telling himself it was too soon for him to start a family with Sakura when he hadn't gotten his revenge yet. He almost lost Sakura once and he couldn't risk losing a family within a short period of time. There was always the 'what if' possibilities running though his mind. His large hand ran through his hair; though if something did happen to him in the final battle, he wanted to leave a part of him with Sakura and the only thing would be a child. The thought of the pink haired kunoichi raising their child alone pained him; it wouldn't be right for both of them for they had already suffered enough. He sighed heavily, things were getting too complicated. He continued to meditate on his thought to hopefully come to a final decision.

Sakura was in the bathroom washing their clothing. She would always stop after washing one clothing and sense if her husband's chakra was still outside. She thought he had headed out to train, but he was still out on the balcony. The pink haired woman knew something was bothering him or he wouldn't be acting the way he was; his odd behavior toward her, barely talking, and not heading out to train.

When everything was scrubbed and soaked, the cherry blossom gathered all the wet clothing to hang them out on the balcony to dry in the sun. The male Uchiha was sitting on the balcony edge, his back against the wall, eyes closed, his left leg propped up on the edge. He rested his left arm on his knee and his right was over his placed over his abdomen. Sakura walked out to the balcony with a basket full of the clothing needed to be dried. She hung everything on wooden rods and set them all on the balcony. She then approached her lover and with her right hand on his cheek, she turned his head toward his. She lifted her other hand up and cupped his face. His onyx orbs reveal themselves and stared down at the cherry blossom.

"Please tell me what's bothering you Sasuke-kun," she requested with a pleading voice.

He shifted his dark orbs down at her lower abdomen then back at her emerald orbs. His lean strong arms swept her off her feet and onto his lap. His left arm was wrapped around her hip and his right hand was placed over her lower abdomen. Sakura tensed slightly when he placed his hand on her lower abdomen and he noticed. His left hand ran up her back as she leaned her head forward toward his. Her emerald orbs stared down at his lips then into his dark orbs before she gently pressed her lips against his. Sasuke returned the kiss immediately, pushing his lips harder against hers. He poured all this feeling for her into the kiss. The Uchiha couple had been making out a lot within the day, but it didn't bother either one of them.

They shared a passionate gentle kiss; her hands slowly ran back into his hair, her arms wrapped around his neck. He still had his right hand on her lower abdomen while his other hand held onto the back of her neck. Sakura broke the kiss, but their lips still brushed against each other. She leaned in, placing a gentle kiss on his lip. When she pulled back, Sasuke's hand pushed her head right back to his, their lips slamming against each other's. The pink haired kunoichi tilted her head to the side a bit, deepening the kiss she shared with her husband.

Sasuke's tongue licked her semi swollen lips, wanting permission to enter the cavern of her mouth. She granted him entrance by slowly parting her lips and his smooth tongue shove itself into her mouth. The Uchiha matriarch let out a low moan when their tongues met with each other's and began battling for dominance. In a matter of moments, Sasuke had won the battle against his wife. She didn't care whether she won or not; Uchiha Sasuke was the only person she would give in to.

When they finally broke apart, the couple was panting slightly. Her slender fingers traced his face then ran down his cheeks, neck, and chest. Sakura laid her head against his chest and placed her hands over his right hand while his left draped over her shoulder, pulling her in closer to his body. The rhythm of his heart beat calmed her body, relaxing her as she enjoyed their time together. Sasuke leaned his head against hers as he gazed off into the distance. He came to a final decision.

Uchiha Sasuke was going to leave an heir and make sure nothing happened to Sakura or the child.

* * *

Naruto and Kakashi entered through the large red gates of Konoha. It was early in the evening and most stores were beginning to close up. The two ninjas headed toward the Hokage mansion to meet with Tsunade; they had something important to speak with her about.

The blond held his fist tightly that his knuckles were white and his finger nails were digging into his skin. He bit the inside of his cheeks to try to claim him down, but it did no good. Kakashi understood the anger his student felt, but it couldn't he helped. If it wasn't for that one specific encounter, Naruto won't be beating himself mentally.

* * *

_Kakashi and Naruto had finally checked out of the inn and headed back toward Konoha. The blond was his usual hyper self while the copy ninja was fully alert. They were jumping from tree to tree until the copy ninja come into a sudden halt. They were only about a quarter mile away from the village and Kakashi thought it was time to find out who had been following them. The blond stopped on the branch next to the jounin confused why he stopped._

"_Is there something wrong sensei?" Naruto asked._

_The copy ninja looked up at a tree branch across from them. They weren't alone, he was sure of that._

"_You've been following us since we left," Kakashi said drawing out a kunai. "Show yourself."_

_A figure began to appear out of the tree branch. He wore an orange mask with an eye hole for only the right eye. His hair was a bit spiky, yet messy and he wore the dark coat with red clouds._

"_As expected from the copy ninja of Konoha…" he said. "I am lucky to have found you and the Kyuubi together."_

"_Don't make any sudden moves Naruto." Kakashi whispered to his student. The blond clenched his fist tightly, ready to attack. Kakashi didn't move, but he still held the kunai in his hand. "We'll just observe him for now."_

"_Let me introduce myself," he said. "My name is Tobi…"_

_Naruto smirked up at the man. Tobi was confused until he sensed a chakra presence behind him. He turned around only to have a clone of Naruto come at him with the Rasengan._

"_Get out of our freaking way asshole!" the clone yelled._

_The moment the attack came in contact with the Akatsuki member, something completely unexpected happened. The clone went straight through the man, without causing any damage._

_Tobi shook his head. "You won't be able to lay a scratch on me. It doesn't matter how strong your attacks are, none of them will work on me."_

_Naruto was pissed and began to create more clones to attack the man. After ten minutes, not one clone was able to land an attack; they would miss or the dark haired man would let the attack go right through him. Unable to stand around anymore, the blond joined the attack with his clones. Kakashi lifted up his Leaf headband, revealing his Sharingan. He watched closely, studying the Akatsuki member as he fought against Naruto. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary, he was just too good; he could side step to avoid an attack or let it pass through his body as life he was water. Another ten minutes passed by and still, not one blow connected. All the clones were gone and Naruto landed on the branch, ready to launch at the man again._

"_I will play with you children some other time…" Tobi said in a serious tone. "I have some other important matters to attend to."_

_The Akatsuki member stood straight as he looked down at the two ninjas. His eye was slightly visible from that angle, but it was still shadowed by the mask. Kakashi's eyes widen._

"…_Sharingan?" he whispered, confused._

"_In a matter of days you will see them…" Tobi said in a serious tone. "Whether the truth is told then or not, their fate will be decided. If things follow as I have planned, the destruction will befall the village Senju Hashirama worked so protect."_

"_Who are you talking about?" Naruto yelled out. "Tell me asshole!"_

_Tobi waves at the two. "Bye bye," he said then disappears into the distance._

"_Who…Who the hell is he?" Kakashi said to himself._

* * *

Naruto wanted to go after the guy to continue fighting him, even though he knew he wouldn't be able to land a hit on the Akatsuki member. What confused him was why the man didn't try to capture him. Wasn't the Akatsuki after him because of the Kyuubi demon sealed within him? Kakashi on the other hand couldn't get over the fact that the man had a Sharingan eye; it confused him greatly. Things didn't add up; the only ones he knew of to have to special Kekkei Genkai and were alive were the Uchiha brothers. Could Tobi actually be another Uchiha?

The two were close to the Hokage mansion when Kakashi saw the two elders and Danzou walk out of the building. Outside waiting for them was the dark haired artist, geared up with his things. Kakashi pulled on his student's collar to drag him away from their eye site. The blond was about to protest, but noticed the serious expression on the copy ninja's face. Naruto looked in the direction his sensei was looking at and saw three people he hated.

Sai bowed to the three before he began to speak. Kakashi read the young man's lips and narrowed his eyes slightly; things had taken an unexpected turn while he and Naruto were away. The next thing the copy ninja read out of the young Root member shocked him.

"We're heading toward the hospital now Naruto," Kakashi said in a serious tone.

The blond wasn't able to read lips, but he knew whatever his mentor found out, it wasn't good. He followed the silver haired man quickly, not wanting to fall behind.

—xXx—

Medics were pouring all their chakra into getting the sannin healed and stable; Tsunade kept her palms over Jiraiya's heart, hoping to get it to beat regularly. Shizune had her hands over the Hokage, pouring her chakra down into the blonde's hand to help her. After fifteen minutes had passed, the man's heart beat was beginning to level out, but Tsunade didn't want to let her hopes up yet. There was a chance it could drop suddenly and she may not be able to bring it back up again.

Shizune sensed that her mentor wasn't going to last much longer and the jutsu she used to disguise her age was slowly beginning to wear off because of the large amount of chakra the Hokage was using. If the blond Hokage continued on for too long, she would go into exhaustion and may possibly end up being hospitalized. She knew the blond didn't want to leave yet until everything was sure to be fine.

"Tsunade-sama you need to stop," Shizune said worryingly. "I'll take over from here. You need to rest before you go into exhaustion. Please think about your own health as well."

The female sannin didn't answer or say a word; her mind was too focused on what was happening in front of her that she didn't hear Shizune speak. The brunet motion for two medics to take over, she needed to escort Tsunade out of the emergency room. When their chakras were focused, Shizune went over to the Hokage and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulders. Tsunade stopped her chakra flow and stepped back for the medics to continue on with their job.

"I'm alright Shizune," the Godaime said in a low voice. Her gloomy eyes were staring at the battered man. "I'll leave momentarily."

The brunet just looked at her mentor and knew right away that Tsunade didn't want to leave the room yet. Things were bad as it is for the Hokage and it didn't seem to get any better; unnecessary bad luck seemed to surround her too much. Shizune just went back over to the table and ordered a few of the medics to prepare of a room so that they could perform a jutsu that would heal most of the major wounds.

Four medics went out a different door prepare the request by Shizune. Those that were still in the room did all they could to heal the body to keep the sannin stable. A group of four was working together, making incision to reach the internal bleedings; they needed to stop the bleeding by closing up the wound immediately. Shizune was conducting the operation because her energy and chakra were going to be needed during the healing.

Tsunade stood at the side lines, watching as her only living teammate fought for his life. When she sensed two familiar chakras outside approaching, she felt like everything came down on her shoulders. Naruto had the right to know what was going on, but she didn't want to hurt the boy anymore than he already was. There was just too much going on all at once; she was lost about what to do. She decided to wait until the time was right for her to go out and tell the young man the news in person.

—xXx—

Three jounins sat right outside the emergency room watching to make sure those that passed by them into the emergency room were medics and not anyone using a jutsu to disguised themselves. The Ni Di Sennin was staring at the door, eager to know whether things were going well for the white haired sannin. They wanted to go into the emergency room to check on Jiraiya's condition while the medics did all they could to heal him, but they weren't allowed to.

They heard footsteps heading toward them and saw the copy ninja and the Kyuubi vessel coming. The three jounins kept their guard up; they needed to be ready if the two that were approaching them weren't who they really are.

Kakashi stopped in front of them and spoke. "Since you already know, you may as well fill me in on what had been going on."

Genma stood up and pulled the copy ninja aside to quickly brief him on what had happen. Kakashi would ask a question and his friend would only reply with a nod or a shake of his head. Naruto wasn't able to make out of the exchange of words, but waited patiently none the less.

The medics weren't rushing in and out anymore and that was a good thing because when the doors of the emergency room swung open, there was a change the patient may be revealed to the young blond. Unfortunately, trouble was now coming; the two elders, Danzou, and Sai were approaching them. If they said anything about Jiraiya, things would turn ugly. Kakashi and Genma stopped exchanging information and turned around to face the arriving nuisance.

"Where is Tsunade?" Koharu asked in a serious tone. "We have urgent business to discuss with her."

"Hokage-sama is currently in the emergency room tending to a patient in critical condition," Anko answered. "Only medics are allowed threw the door."

"I believe we have the right to go those doors regardless of what is going on," Danzou said. "There are more than enough medics around to tend to the patient that Tsunade can spare us a moment."

The elders and Danzou took a step forward only to be stopped by the copy ninja. His headband was lift up, revealing the Sharingan. "I advise you to wait before we are pressured to use force. Tsunade-sama will be out momentarily."

"This cannot wait," Homura said. "We want Tsunade to pull the plug on Jiraiya immediately. She is wasting time when there are more important problems that need to be dealt with." Naruto's eyes widened; so the patient inside the emergency room was Jiraiya. "If you do not let us pass, you will be charge with disobeying orders from a superior."

The four jounins didn't move from their spot. Though they weren't in a fighting stand, they were ready to fight if necessary. Naruto's body was slightly shaking; his sannin mentor was in critical condition and Tsunade was doing her best to heal him while the elders wanted to end his struggle. The blond clenched his fists tightly; the elders were usually behind all the problems that seem to revolve around him or those close to him.

"Sai, you know what to do," Danzou said and received a nod from the said person.

The dark haired root member opened up a scroll and drew out an easy access brush from the ornament the paper was wrapped around. Before the paint on the brush could touch the paper, Sai had his back pushed against the wall, the brush dropping to the white tiled ground. Standing in front of him with a hand tightly around his neck was an angry Naruto. The dark hair young man didn't dare move a muscle; he could sense the sinister chakra slowly leaking through the seal.

"I trusted you," Naruto said harshly, gritting his teeth. "I thought you were my friend, but it seems like I misjudge you."

"You are to release him Uzumaki," said Danzou dangerously.

Naruto only tightened his hold on Sai's neck. Danzou was getting irritated that the genin ranked ninja didn't want to follow orders; the head of the Root ANBU group pulled out a sword and walked toward the Kyuubi vessel. Before the man could make an attack, Kakashi stood in front of him, gripping Danzou's wrist tightly.

"Tsunade-sama is Hokage," Kakashi said seriously with is Sharingan spinning slowly. "And therefore we follow her orders regardless of what you say."

"Hatake Kakashi," Danzou said in a low dangerous voice. "I thought you didn't want to be like White Fang, but it seems you decided to turn your back on orders like him."

The silver haired ninja was holding back for breaking the man's wrist; to be misunderstood by others was what led to the great ninja's death. Yes he did loathe his father, but he finally understood what his father did after losing his best friend so many years ago.

"That is enough Kakashi, Naruto," a familiar voice said.

—xXx—

Ino's shift at the hospital was over for the day. She was about to head out the when she heard a commotion by the emergency room. Tenten was waiting by the front desk for the blond when she noticed her stopping at the corner. Wanting to see what caught the young woman's interest, Tenten tapped the blond on the shoulder.

"Look over there Tenten," the blond whispered, pointing toward the emergency room.

The two chuunins stood out of sight and watched the commotion to find out what was going on.

—xXx—

Tsunade stepped out of the emergency room. She didn't hear what was actually said, but she felt the uneasy chakras and knew right away things were bad. Kakashi and Naruto released their grip and moved to stand by the Hokage. The copy ninja didn't pull down his headband; if the young Root member was to attack unnoticed, the jounin at least would be able to stop him.

"What is going on here?" the Hokage asked.

"You are wasting your time healing him Tsunade," Homura said. "It is his time to go and you have to accept that matter."

The female sannin clenched her fist tightly; the elders must be hiding something if they wanted Jiraiya dead. "This isn't a waste of time," she argued. "Jiraiya has valuable information, but he is currently unconscious. He is alive and I won't let him die regardless of what you say."

"The Shodaime would be disappointed in you Tsunade," Danzou said.

"Don't you dare bring my ojii-sama into this!" the blond yelled. "You have no right to mention his name in this situation when it doesn't involve him." She took in a deep breath. "I want the four of you to leave the hospital and never step foot in here again unless it's for a medical reason. What goes on here is none of your business."

The elders and Danzou slightly glared at the female Hokage before they turned around to leave. Sai stared emotionlessly at the two sides, wanting to understand the emotions he had just witnessed. His dark eyes stared at Naruto; the Kyuubi vessel only glared at him then turned away to stare at the door of the emergency room. The dark haired young man picked up his brush and left the hospital, somewhat confused about the different emotions he had just witnessed. When the Root member was out of sight, Kakashi pulled down his headband back down to cover his eye.

A sigh escaped her mouth as the Hokage rubbed his temples; everything was building up and causing a headache. Her bad luck was really getting to her. Tsunade turned around and looked at the young man; her eyes slightly widen when she finally realize something. She cursed. "Why didn't I figure it out sooner?" she said angrily to herself.

She rushed out of the hospital to her office.

—xXx—

Ino and Tenten immediately left the hospital, not wanting to be caught eavesdropping. Ino was mumbling things to herself, trying to figure out what was happening between the Hokage and the elders. Tenten needed to get away from the blond to inform her teammate and the genius of what she had just witnessed.

"Gomen Ino," the brunette said. "I forgot I have an errand I need to run."

Before the blond could even protest, Tenten was jumping the rooftops to find the two she was looking for. Tenten spotted the Hyuuga prodigy and the Nara genius sitting by one of the outdoor tea stands. The tea stand was empty except for the two males that were there. The weapon mistress jumped down and landed in front of the two males.

"I think the two of you might want to hear about this?"

* * *

In the shadows of a dark alley way, a figure sat patiently watching the inn the older Uchiha was staying at. It was an advantage for him when the inn owner gave Itachi a room that faced in the direction of the alley; it was easier for him to monitor the man. He knew very well Itachi was aware of his presence since the death of the Akatsuki, but the young man didn't do anything about it. His problem was that the older Uchiha was difficult to read and making the wrong move could be fatal.

Deep down he wanted to make his existence known, but doing so would cost him greatly. He had to wait for things to play out before stepping in to fill up any holes and cracks left behind. The trail was set, but a fork in the road prevented things from proceeding forward. He would be at the end of the one of the roads, waiting for them; he was confident that things would turn out in his favor in the end. The revenge he had set out for will be completed with the help of two of the strongest ninjas and all he would need to do was tell a few stories that reveal the truth. What he had set out to do in the very beginning was finally going to be accomplished and it was all thanks to Uchiha Itachi, no, all the credit had to go to Senju Hashirama, he started laying out the bread crumbs.

* * *

The weapon mistress explained what she witness in as much detail as she could to the two males; what she had just witnessed was huge, especially when it had to do with the village leaders.

"Are you sure about this Tenten?" Neji asked after hearing what his teammate had to say.

"I am," she answered then took a sip of her tea. "It's hard to believe, but it's true."

The Nara genius let out a heavy sigh. "This changes everything now." He turned to the two ninjas he was with. "There's something going on between the elders and the Hokage. Whatever it is, it's bad."

"The way Homura-sama stated that healing Jiraiya-sama was unnecessary really made it sound like he actually wanted Jiraiya-sama dead," the kunoichi said. "All the shinobis will be divided and picking sides soon if the problem continues on between the Hokage and the elders."

"I think the issue is much broader than we had expected. New pieces are being added to the puzzle and making thing worse." Shikamaru pondered over the new puzzle pieces, trying to piece together the clues. "Do you think the elders are trying to get rid of Tsunade-sama?"

"That doesn't make any sense Nara," Neji said. "They are the ones that chose Tsunade-sama to take the place of Hokage. Why would they want to over throw her now?"

"We can only assume Tsunade-sama knows something she isn't suppose to know about," Shikamaru said. "Whatever it is, there's a change the information could cost the elders their positions."

—xXx—

"How could I have been so blind?" Tsunade swung open the door to her office and slammed it shut loudly. "Why didn't I figure it out sooner? It was so straight forward." She went over to her desk and literally pulled out the locked drawer that contained the note written by Minato.

_He will befriend a fan and spring. They are the key to his loneliness.  
The three will be taught by the cat then by the legends.  
The demon with nine tails is the cause of the problems between the fans. The truth must be told or hidden before it is too late.  
The fan is the key to the spring's past. The young bride had been living a lie most of her life.  
Too many secrets have been kept from them and it can break the leaf.  
The real criminals are high up. Only the truth can bring them down.  
The third journal tells more if he is no longer around. He brought the three together to keep them protected.  
In the end, if one is gone, all three will parish together._

Tsunade read it over and over again in her mind, making sure she didn't misunderstand what the Yondaime had written. It was completely unbelievable. She just couldn't believe was Minato had written down. In a blank parchment, Tsunade note down what she thought the riddles meant.

_Naruto will befriend an Uchiha and a Haruno. They are the key to his loneliness.  
Their sensei will be the copy ninja first before the sannins.  
The Kyuubi is the cause of the problems between the Uchiha brothers. The truth must be told or kept a secret before it is too late.  
The Uchiha is the key to Haruno's past. She had been living a lie most of her life.  
Too many secrets have been kept from them and it can be the destruction of Konoha.  
The real criminals have a high rank. Only the truth can strip them of that power.  
The journal of the Sandaime tells more. He was the one that brought the three together to keep them safe.  
If anything happens to one, all three will parish together._

There were just too many questions and possibilities running through her mind. How did Minato know Naruto would meet Sasuke and Sakura when it was twelve years after his death? What did he mean by the Kyuubi being the cause of the problems for the Uchiha brothers? Both Itachi and Sasuke were born before the Kyuubi attacked, but neither would have been involved in the defending of the village. How did Minato know that Sakura would marry at a young age? What kind of classified information was kept from Sasuke and Sakura? How was it going to destroy Konoha?

Tsunade cursed; with each answered question another difficult questions would arise. The only way to find out the meaning behind the deciphered riddles was the find the journal of the Sandaime and that led to another obstacle. Where would she find the journal?

—xXx—

The doors of the emergency room were still; not one medic was seen going through the doors since Kakashi and Naruto arrived. It was considered a good sign, but it wasn't enough to lift their hopes up yet. Everyone was sitting on the bench waiting. The Ni Di Sennin hadn't left yet, wanting to know about Jiraiya's condition. One thing that did bother them was Naruto; they couldn't help notice that the blond looked like Minato. Naruto sat on the ground in front of the emergency room with his sadden blue eyes focused on the door; he didn't want to leave until Shizune or any other medic came out with good news.

The blond was in pain; he felt like his heart had been stabbed by a thousand needles. The only way for the pain to go away was if everything turned out well, but that wasn't how life had played things out. Naruto desperately wanted everything to be a bad dream, a nightmare that brought up his worse fears. He wanted to wake up to find himself in the hospital bed with Tsunade hovering over him to make sure he was alright or on the field with Sakura trying to wake him up. He wanted to find himself knocked out cold by Kakashi or even Sasuke while they were training. He wanted to wake up under the shade of the trees after taking a nap from an exhausting training exercise. He wanted to wake up in his tent he shared with his teammates while on a mission. He wanted to find Jiraiya in the corner going over his researched information for his next book.

Unfortunately for Naruto, pain was only part of life.

* * *

The Uchiha couple hadn't moved much from their spot on the balcony ledge. Sakura had only moved once to gather the dried clothing and bring it inside then returned back into the arms of her lover. They sat together enjoying the day outside, neither one of them paid attention to the time. Sasuke just stared off into the distance, his arms wrapped around his blossom. The pink haired woman lay against her husband's hard chest, listening to the sounds around her. By the time the sun was soon about to set did Sakura realize that it was getting late.

She opened her eyes and looked up at the man; his head was leaning back against the wall and he was fast asleep. Not wanting to bother him, the pink haired woman decided she would go and make dinner for the two of them. She shifted slightly only to have the lean strong arms of her man tighten slightly around her petite body.

She gave him a light peck on the lips and said, "I'm going to go make something to eat." He freed her from his grasp. "I won't take long."

Sakura left the room to the kitchen, leaving the male Uchiha out on the balcony. He opened his onyx orbs and stared at the setting sun. The fiery orange sky calmed him as he watched the clouds float. Not wanting to stay out any longer, Sasuke headed inside. He closed the window behind him and lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

* * *

In a huge room, the ground was covered with a large seal. A four pointed star was inscribed in a square with the pointed ends sticking out slightly on the four sided shape. There were two pots of oil with a fire burning at either sides of the square. Two large circles on the ground closed off the seal.

Lying in the very center of the seal was the white haired sannin. At the corners of the large square, a medic sat on the ground focusing their chakra into the jutsu. Behind them stood another medic that would switches places with them when needed so each medic performing the jutsu would receive some time to rest and let their chakra replenish a bit. Shizune sat at one end of the four pointed star, leading the four medics that were focusing their chakra. Sweat was dripping down from her forehead as she continued to focus her chakra with the four other medics.

After four ours had passed, all the wounds on Jiraiya's body were sealed up. Torn flesh, holes that went through his body were gone leaving only a few scar behind.

"You may stop now," Shizune said ceasing her chakra. "We're finished with what we can do."

Shizune left the room to give everyone waiting the good news and let the medic care for the sannin.

* * *

The pink haired woman returned back to the room with a tray of freshly made sushi, a few cut slices of tomatoes and apples, a pot of tea, and a small bottle of sake. The raven haired man sat up as his wife placed the tray down on the bed between them. Sasuke started eating while Sakura poured tea into mug and then sake into a cup. When done, she held up the sake cup toward her husband for him to take.

He took the cup and looked at her. "You're not going to drink any?"

Sakura popped one of the sushi into her mouth; she needed a little time to think of what she would say for an excuse. She didn't want to come out straight and say she was pregnant, it wasn't right, especially when she had yet to find out if it was true.

After she swallowed the contents in her mouth, she spoke. "I got the sake for you to enjoy. I shouldn't be drinking any alcohol after what happened to me this morning. Tea is fine with me."

The raven haired man didn't question her or say anything and they both continued to eat in silence. Whenever Sasuke looked at his wife, she would blush a light pink and smile shyly before turning her gaze away. His half lidded lustful eyes would gaze up her entire body, undressing her with this piercing gaze. Sakura did feel slightly uncomfortable, but at the same time she actually liked his exotic behavior that was caused by the alcohol. She watched him turn around and lit the candles in the room, illuminating the room with the many small flames instead of turning on the light. She didn't quite understand his actions, but she thought it was interesting to watch Sasuke's behavior when he had alcohol in his system.

When all the food was finished, Sasuke took the half empty sake bottle as Sakura set the tray outside the door. She turned around to look at her alcohol intoxicated lover. His face was slightly flushed showing a clear sigh of intoxication as his half lidded onyx orbs stared at the pink haired woman with lust. She walked toward him and took a seat next to him on the bed. Sasuke held the sake bottle out toward her. She didn't want to drink any, but she didn't want the raven haired man to suspect anything was wrong with her. She took hold of the bottle and held it to her lips. She let the clear liquid wet her lips before giving the bottle back to Sasuke.

The pink haired girl licked her lips as Sasuke smirked and took the bottle of alcohol from her. He drained the rest of the liquid down his throat as if it was water. The raven haired man then tossed the bottle aside, grabbed his wife, and slammed his lips on hers. Sakura was completely surprised by her lover's action. She fell back, onto the bed with her lover hovering over her, his hand pinning her arms down beside her head. He trailed kisses along her jaw, pressing his body down on hers. He spread her legs apart with his knee and thrust a certain part of his lower body toward hers, rubbing their sex against each other through their clothing.

"Sa-suke-kun…ahh!"

Her screaming moan drove him insane with lust. He moved back, pulling the girl up with him off the bed. He picked her up and smashed her back against the wall. The small yelp of pain was silenced when their lips met each other's again. His hands grabbed onto her buttock and lifted her up. He pushed his body harder up against hers to support her up; her skirt was beginning to lift up as her legs wrapped itself around the male's hips. Sasuke's left hand pinned her arms above her head as his freed hand began to literally tear her shirt off her body. Unable to protest against her husband's action, she let him dispose of her clothing anyway he wanted. He disposed the red cloth into pieces on the ground quickly then attacked her neck, nibbling on her fair skin, leaving behind dark red marks.

Her arms were free and her hands began to tug on his haori, wanting to be rid of the material. When the piece of clothing was free from the stash that held it in place, the male Uchiha quickly took it off and threw of his shoulder. He gave her neck a long slow lick, making her throw her head back and moan out the male's name loudly. Sakura's slender fingers were tangled in his raven locks, clenching a fist full in both hands. He pushed up against her body harder, once again making their sex rub against each other's through the fabric of their clothing. Sakura moaned loudly from their contact; she felt a certain part of her body heat up and slowly become moist. He was torturing her, wanting the pink haired girl to beg, but she wouldn't give in right away.

Sasuke lifted his pink haired mistress up higher then let his fingers slowly grazed down the skin of her back. He began to nip on her skin again, this time biting down slightly until he drew a bit of blood. When his hands came in contact with her skirt, he tried to tear the piece of cloth off her body, but it wouldn't rip. Finally getting fed up with it, Sasuke grabbed his sword out of its sheath. Sakura flinched slightly when she felt the cold metal run along her left thigh. After making a few cuts on her skirt fabric, he placed the sword back on the desk. With his two bare hands, he was able to tear the dark fabric of the clothing easily.

He slowly let the woman back down on her feet as he slowly got down on his knees, nipping lower along her body, leaving behind more dark red marks, visible teeth marks, and small areas of dried blood. Whenever Sasuke's teeth pierced the ivory sink of his lover, Sakura would throw her head back and send out a silent scream. Her moans were music to his ears; encouraging him on. His grip on her tightened possessively as he reached her navel. Her hands were still on his head, entangled in the raven locks, urging him to go on.

When Sasuke was done entertaining himself, he licked her smooth skin from her naval up to her semi swollen lips. Her hands ran down his face and chest down to the man's dark pants. Her slender fingers tugged the dark color stash free to let it fall on the ground, but Sasuke grabbed it before it did. He let her down then his woman around and pushed her against the wall. He pressed his naked chest against her back as he began to nip the back of her neck. He drew both of her arms behind her back and used his navy blush stash to bind her wrist together. Sakura's body was being covered with more red marks as her husband moved to nip lower down. A wave of pleasure shot through her entire body, making her moan out loudly, when his right hand slowly grazed her forbidden territory between her thighs.

"Sasuke-kun…" she breathed out.

After a sufficient amount of biting, the ivory sink of the pink haired woman was covered with bite marks, some of which pierced though her skin drawing out blood. Her breaths were coming out in pants, her wrist still bonded together behind her back, her breasts were pressed against the wall, and her body was beginning to weaken with every touch. The intoxicated man planted kisses along her left shoulder, on her neck, and then claimed her semi swollen cherry lips. Sakura arched her back into him, deepening the kiss they share. His large rough hands ran up her thighs and her abdomen, making his lover moan. His hands grabbed her breasts roughly and caused her to gasp into the kiss. Taking advantage of her open mouth, he ravaged her mouth.

When they finally parted, Sasuke licks his lips, taking in the saliva of his lover. He forcefully turned her around to face him completely and smirked; he was going to torture her and make her scream his name out. His hands wonder to her waist and held on to her tightly. He literally lifted her off the ground and tossed her onto the bed as if she was a doll. The kunoichi knew very well the alcohol was inducing him to be lustfully violent, but she didn't mind, she was enjoying it. Sakura wanted her husband to loosen up and he was, pouring his energy into their intimacy. She lay on the bed oddly since her arms were behind her back. Onyx orbs clouded with lust stared down at her as the intoxicated body moved to strip down completely. Her half lidded emerald eyes observed the man, her body desiring the skin to skin contact with him.

With all his clothing disposed of, he climbed over his wife. He untied the binding of her wrist only to have the woman grab his head and draw him in for a kiss. She flipped them over so that she was on top, straddling his hip. They parted and her tongue guide itself down his chin to his neck. She began to make her own love bits on his skin. She trailed down his chest slowly, her smooth hands gliding down, feeling very muscle. She was holding dominance, but unfortunately dealing with an intoxicated Uchiha met victory would be lived short. Sasuke grabbed the small wrist of the pink haired woman and sat up. As he moved up, her tongue left a trail of saliva over his chest. Her emerald eyes stared at him innocently, sending him the message that he should be fair.

Sasuke smirked at her then claimed her lips; he held both her wrist in one hand above her head. He reached behind him to get his navy blue stash to bind her wrist once again. He lay her down on the bed and tied the other end of the stash on the head board. She tugged on the binding to be free of them, but the raven haired man had tied it on tightly. They parted and Sasuke still has a smirk on his face. He moved his head until his lips were by her left ear. She moaned when she felt his harden member graze against her lower abdomen.

"If you're a good girl," he whispered hotly into her ear. "I might let you free and give you what you want Sakura."

His right hand reached under the pillow he slept on and pulled out a kunai. Sasuke sat up on her hip, straddling her body, not putting all his weight on her; his member was on her lower abdomen, teasing her. Sakura's blush covered face showed her eagerness, but she knew begging her husband would only cause him to prolong his torturous, yet pleasurable activities over her. He ran the cold blade along her left arm, down to one of the straps that held her bra up. The male slid the blade between her skin and the strap then cut the piece of fabric. He did the same to the other strap then glided the blade to her right breast. The blade tip circled around the fabric where her nipple was, cutting a hole. When her nipple was exposed, Sasuke lean down and placed a wet kiss on it, leaving behind his warm saliva. He did the same to her other nipple and was rewarded with a moan. He brought the kunai to the valley between her breasts, making it agonizing for the pink haired woman when the kunai slowly slid over the fabric, cutting it.

When the bra was finally cut in half, Sasuke placed the weapon back under his pillow and then moved his body so that he hovered over her body. He pulled away the piece of broken fabric and tossed it aside. He gave her left nipple a long slow lick and felt her shiver slightly. He flicked his tongue over her peak, kissed it, and then sucked on it hungrily. Sasuke's left hand massaged the neglected breast as his other hand held his weight up. He switched over to entertain her other breast, giving it the same treatment. Sakura moaned out loudly, arching her body into him.

Sakura couldn't stand waiting; she felt hours had passed by with her husband entertaining himself with her. Her breath was slightly hastened as her emerald eyes watched her lover move lower along her body. He moved his head over to her waist and began to shred the fabric of her panties with his teeth like an animal. His hands held onto her thighs to keep her from moving. She moaned whenever he nipped or licked her skin. Sasuke wasn't taking his time, he was actually having some trouble because of the lace pattern, but his intoxicated mind and body wasn't going to give up. He would squeeze her thighs tightly with his large hands or move her legs into a different position to give himself more access.

Remembering a kunai was tucked away, Sakura tried to reach for it without making too many movements. She didn't want to disturb the dominate male until after she was free. When her finger was able to grab hold of the kunai end, she dragged it out quickly and began to slice through the stash that tied her. The moment the bindings were off, Sasuke's teeth grabbed the last bit of fabric that covered her wet entrance. His lips slightly brushed over her labium and she shivered at the feeling for his warm breath over her entrance. The male sat up slightly and flung his head to the side, tossing what was left of his woman's navy blue panties. With his head turned away, Sakura took the given advantage and pounced on him, tackling him down to the bed so that she could finish pleasing the man before she was interrupted earlier.

Unfortunately for Sakura, it turned out to be a clone; she never expected Sasuke to use his ninja abilities during their intimacy. A chuckle was admitted and her emerald eyes looked straight ahead only to find the real Uchiha standing there in his boxers and a sake bottle in hand. He had hidden his chakra so well that the medic didn't sense him there. Though the clone had exhibit the same signs of intoxication, it was only minor compared to the real Uchiha Sasuke that stood before her. A smirk was on his face as he eyed the naked body of his wife. She was on her hands and knees, her innocent emerald green eyes were watching him closely; she was a predator studying the pray carefully. He set the bottle aside and walked toward the woman. He made several familiar hand signs and a clone of himself appeared behind him.

The bright emerald orbs were focused on the real shinobi. When he was about two meters away from her, Sakura jumped off the bed. About to reach him, she watched her husband become a blur and felt an arm wrap around her waist, stopping her and tossing her back down on the bed. She sat up admittedly to spot him, but he was nowhere in sight. Without a chance to absorb what had happened, a blindfold was placed over her eyes. Sakura felt herself pulled into the arms of her lover, her back against his chest. His hot breath mixed with the smell of alcohol tingle her body. Her right hand reached back and entangled itself in the silky raven locks. His left hand grabbed onto her breast as the other grazed her labium. She moaned out loudly and arched her back; she wanted the blindfold to be gone with, but it would take away the unexpected pleasure she was going through. She felt another pair of hands spread her legs apart, exposing the lower region of her body. She moved her head to face downward, as if to see what was going to be done. A hot breath came in contact with her entrance and she squirmed slightly; it was a completely new experience for her to have a clone around during her intimacy.

"You weren't a good girl Sakura," the Sasuke said from behind her as the one in front of her inserted a finger into her core. "You will be punished for being a bad girl," he whispered as another finger entered her.

The two fingers slowly slid into her wet core; Sakura moved her hips forward, desiring for release. Her actions were soon stopped when she was held down from moving. The one behind her slowly licked the back of her next over and over again, making her shiver with excitement. The fingers pulses in and out, rubbing against her inner walls; with each thrust into her, he would be rewarded with a loud moan. He moved his two fingers in a scissor motion, making her scream out pleasurably as he stretched her opening. Noticing that the pink haired woman was enjoying the treatment, he removed his fingers and earned a whimper form the kunoichi; she was so close, but she was being punished. What happened next was utterly unanticipated by the Uchiha matriarch. She felt a warm wet tongue slowly running along her entrance, making her wetter than she already was.

"Ah! Sasuke-kun!"

The fingers of her right hand dug into the scalp of the man behind her as her other hand urged the one in front of her entrance for the release she wanted. Sakura didn't care whether the two entertaining her were both clones as the real Sasuke watched; she was enjoying the pleasure too much to actually care. As one Sasuke began to suck on her clitoris, spreading her legs farther apart for better access, the other grabbed hold of her breasts, massaging and squeezing them. Her moans were loud as she whimpered for her release; there was a limit to how much torturous pleasure she could handle and she was beginning to fall.

"Onegai…Sasuke-kun…" she said between pants. "Ah!" He gently bit down on her clitoris. "I…want...you…" She felt the lips of the Sasuke behind her turn into a smirk; he was enjoying her suffering. "Ah!" she gasped out when her breasts were squeezed roughly. "Onegai…I…can't…stand…it…"

"I'm not finished yet my blossom," he whispered from behind before beginning to bite down her skin.

Beads of sweat were forming and dripping down their bodies to the sheets on the bed. The male at her opening delved his tongue into her core, making the woman arch her back and moan out his name loudly. Both of her hands were tangled in the hair of the man giving her oral treatments, inducing him to continue without stopping. His tongue twisted and twirled inside of her, tasting every drop of her sweet fluid his tongue lapped up. The new feeling of bliss coursed through her body, sending her mind into ecstasy. Each time this tongue came in contact with her most sensitive spot, Sakura would urge him to continue until her release, keeping her legs spread apart as long as she could. The pink haired woman tried bucking closer, but the iron grip around her hip kept her planted. Her blush covered face had strands of hair sticking to her, her body sticky against the two bodies. She moaned and gasped as the treatment continued on. She was very close to reaching her peek, but he pulled away. Sakura whimpered when she heard him disappear in a puff of smoke.

"Sasuke-kun…." she breathed out pleadingly to the man that held her from behind.

"You tasted…sweet my blossom," the real Sasuke whispered into her ears hotly. "Did you enjoy that?"

Sakura nodded her head in response, lost in her own high; she never imaged having a drunk Uchiha Sasuke around her would lead to them having hot crazy sex. She heard chuckling coming from behind as he ran his rough hands down her sweaty sides then to her inner thighs, never going near her heated wet core. Sakura placed her hands over Sasuke's to get him to move over to her core, but she was too drained from the pleasurable torture to find the strength to get him to submit to her.

Sasuke released his wife from his hold and moved off the bed. He disposed of his boxer, grabbed hold of her left wrist and pulled her off the bed. Sakura didn't argue and let Sasuke dominate; she knew if she did try to take over, her desires for release would be prolonged. The raven haired man slammed the pink haired woman into the wall, pressing his naked against hers. Her small hands her were on his chest, slowly tracing his muscles. She felt his member brush against her lower abdomen and moan. He grabbed her thighs firmly and lifted her up, her legs spread on either side of him. The tip of his shaft entered her slowly then he trusted his member into her wet opening. Sakura's scream from the sudden entry was silenced when their lips met one another's harshly. Her hands held onto his broad shoulders for support then slid to entangle in the raven locks as her legs wrapped around his waist. The feeling of her inner muscles squeezing him aroused Sasuke and made him harden. Her eyes widened behind the blindfold; she never expected anything like this to happen to her. When they parted, Sakura felt his alcohol breath against her face and his lips brushing up her nose. His teeth grabbed hold of the blindfold and tore it off.

Holding onto her hips tightly, Sasuke pulled out of her and thrust back in with much force. As he walked over to the desk, he drew himself out and plunged right back into her, making his woman arch her back and yell out his name. He pushed his katana and all the medicine bottles on the ground. He laid her down on the desk, leaving her legs hanging off wrapped around his waist. She tried to sit up, but his left hand held her down. Once again he pulled out then shoved himself back into her soaking core. Sakura arched her back screaming out her man's name in sheer pleasure and her orgasm hit her hard.

He let her lay there for a while before gather her up, their lower contact never breaking. His large hands trailed up her flat abdomen to her breasts; he did get tired of entertaining himself with them. Sakura was panting still, gathering her breath after the bliss. She knew very well Sasuke wasn't done with her yet; it wasn't going to be easy for her to tire out the intoxicated man, especially when he was an Uchiha. Through her inner muscles, she found her husband had yet to be hard and fully aroused; it was going to be a long night for Uchiha Sakura. Sasuke placed his thumbs over her harden nipple and slowly began to swirl them in a circular motion. He felt his member become slightly moist as she became wet one again.

"That...feels…good…" she said between her gasp for air.

Sasuke lifted her up and went over the bed. He lay down with the woman on top. Taking it as her chance to take dominance, Sakura grounded her pelvis against his and earned a low groan. Sasuke clutched her hips tightly to help her go faster; Sakura's skilled fingers and hands slowly trailed up his chest as she leaned down. She placed her lips over his for a gentle kiss then ran her moist tongue over his cheeks and lips. She suddenly sat up straight and moaned loudly after feeling his member growing harder inside of her. Closing her emerald orbs, she grinded herself against him, her breasts drawing his attention as they vibrate in reaction to her movements. Unsatisfied with her pace, Sasuke gripped her hips painfully to move her; bring her harder and faster down onto him. More sweat formed on their bodies and ran down their sticky skin.

"Come…ah…with…me…ah…Sasuke-kun," she gasped out between her moans and pants.

"I'm not even close Sakura," he said.

Those dark onyx orbs watched her, wanting to see her climax. When she finally came Sakura arched her back, her face flushed brightly, her eyes closed tightly, and she screamed out the name of her lover. He felt her warm liquid coat his length, her muscles grasping onto him still and he hardened once again within her. She gasped out at the feeling then fell down on his chest, panting.

Giving her no time to recover from her bliss, Sasuke pulled half way out of her, flipped their position, and then quickly slammed right back into her. Sakura arched her back moaning loudly, her hands gripping the sheets she laid upon. He thrust into her in a slow manner, teasing her. Her right arm was draped over his neck while her left arm was settled over his back. Sakura moaned out loudly, wanting to buck her hips to get what she wanted, but his tight hold on her waist kept her down. She wrapped her legs around his waist, keeping him close. She panted out requests for him to quicken his pace and slam himself harder against her, but he didn't comply, wanting to watch her plead.

"You're…tight…Sakura…" Sasuke panted out as her walls tightened around his shaft.

Finally wanting his own release, Sasuke began quickening his pace, thrusting harder and faster into her wet core. Loving the blissful intoxication, Sakura rewarded her husband with moans. The hot air surrounding them in the room only made things more pleasurable for them. Sasuke captured her lips for a wet sloppy kiss as he continued to pulse himself in and out of her, loving the feeling of her tight walls around his length. He hit a sensitive spot within her and was rewarded a gasp then a moan. Her body was weakening; she didn't know if she could continue on with her husband if his intoxicated mind and body didn't have enough. Their sweat mixed with each others as the room filled with the sounds of their pants, moans, and groans. His grip on her tightened; her nails dug into his porcelain skin, leaving imprints.

"…Sasuke-kun…" she panted out as she felt herself reaching her peak.

"…Sakura…" he breather out as he continued to thrust in and out of her soaking core.

Sakura arched her back and screamed her lover's name out in ecstasy as her orgasm exploded for the third time. Sasuke gave two hard fast thrust and finally got his release, letting his seeds spill deep inside of her. With his energy drained and unable to support his weight on his arms any longer, Sasuke feel on top of his wife from exhaustion with his length still sheathed within her cavern. Sweat continued to drip from their bodies. Sakura's cheeks were flushed bright red while Sasuke had a light pink blush over his own cheeks. The kunoichi was panting heavily, trying to catch every lost breath during their heated activity, her hair fanned around her head. He too was breathing heavily, his breath against the crook of her neck, his bangs stuck against her skin.

They bathed in the afterglow, enjoying each other's presence. Sasuke gained his composure first and slowly slid out of her, trailing lazy kisses down her body. After passing the valley between her breasts, he laid his head on her abdomen. His hands were stroking her sides tenderly; her long slender legs were at his side, her left leg draped over his back. She ran her left hand through his sweat drenched hair, playing with it as her eyes slowly beginning to close. The male lifted his head up to face her flat smooth belly. He slowly planted gentle kisses along her abdomen as Sakura's hand continued to play with his raven locks.

Neither one of them spoke a word to each other. Sasuke continued planting kisses along her belly, his mind focused on what may come. The pink haired kunoichi was tired after making love with her husband, but he didn't seem tire one bit. Sakura noticed his mind was no longer drunk, but his body was in the bliss of the alcohol, his thoughts focused on something.

"What are you thinking about Sasuke-kun?" she asked in a low whisper. "You seem so entertained with my stomach."

He stopped planting kisses, closed his eyes, and leaned his forehead down on her stomach. "Someday, you'll be carrying my child here." The tip of his nose touched her navel as his right hand ran over the smooth skin of her stomach.

"It will be one of the happiest days of my life when it happens."A smile formed on her lips. "How would you feel if I were pregnant Sasuke-kun?" she questioned in a whisper. "Look at the two of us, we've made love often and haven't used any contraceptive."

He moved up so that he would look at her face. His arms were on either side of her body, supporting his body up. Was she finally telling him about the flickering chakra? Was this the secret she had been keeping from him? Did they really create a new life?

"Are you implying that you are pregnant?"

She shook her head in response. "I just want to know your feelings about it," she said.

Sasuke lay his head down on Sakura's shoulder; in the pit of his stomach, he couldn't help but feel that there was a life growing inside of her. Yes he would be content, but the only thing that worried him was the safety of his wife and the possible unborn child.

"What do you think?"

"You will be overjoyed, but not show it." She giggled. "You will play with our baby, teach out baby, love our baby, and be a wonderful father," she said opening her eyes.

He looked at her completely emotionless, but his eyes showed a hint of sadness. Sakura was confidence that he would turn out to be a great father, but he thought otherwise. Sasuke never had a real father figure around and he felt he would turn out to be like his own father. He knew Sakura would be a loving mother, showing the child the love he could never.

"Ah."

"I want two sons and a little girl for the two of them to be protective of like you will be," Sakura said giggling. "How many sons and daughters do you eventually want Sasuke-kun?"

He stayed silent, thinking. "I want many sons," Sasuke answered bluntly. "I want at least seven sons."

Sakura immediately look at her husband; she was completely shocked with the answer she received. Seven children would mean one after another; she would never get a break until her husband was satisfied. Sasuke looked her in the eye and smirked. She wanted to protest, but he gently pressed his lips onto hers before she could.

When they parted, he spoke. "And our last child will be a little girl."

Sakura cupped his face and stroke his cheeks with her thumb. "What if we turn out to have only girls, no sons at all?"

"Hn."

She smiled up at him, knowing he would turn out to be a great father. She leaned up and kissed him tenderly on the lips.

* * *

Special appreciation to my great fanfic buddy: animequeen100.

TOGETHER FIRST ANNIVERSARY! **Hello again readers. Thank you to all of those that reviewed. It's another late update, but with a long chapter filled with SASUSAKU moments, fluff, lime, and a very juicy lemon.**

**Sorry if I slightly spoiled things for anyone. Hope everyone liked the riddle I created; it took me awhile to get it together. I wanted a nice afterglow moment for Sasuke and Sakura with them talking about having a family and stuff. I changed the encounter with Tobi so that it would different from scene in the manga and fitting for my fanfic. Yes Sai made a small appearance in this chapter and I know some readers are yelled at me for putting him on the elders' side; there is a reason I did that and it plays into what's going to happen in future chapters. Yes, a mysterious person is stalking Itachi, some people may already know who it is, but please do not spoil for other people. The symbol described on the ground that Jiraiya was laying in the middle of can be found in the manga; it is the same one that was used to heal Neji.  
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**To those that do reread previous chapters, you may have noticed some changes/addition to the chapters. No worries, I just read through it and found some mistakes and stuff and went back to correct it. The plot won't change at all.**

**Please review! It is greatly appreciated! Virtual treats for all!**


	28. Chap 28: Answer

**Hey there readers! Sorry for any mistakes. There are some minor spoils here. ENJOY!**

**Warning: There are LEMONS in his chapter! If you hate LEMONS, skip it. YOU'VE BEEN WARN!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this fanfic.**

* * *

Chapter 28: Answer

The four jounins were sitting on the bench, tired and asleep, but alert of their surroundings. They weren't going to risk letting the elders or anyone following their orders to pass by them. The two toad elders were slumbering too, exhausted from the battle they were in earlier in the day. The blond shinobi hadn't move from his spot, he sat on the ground in front of the double doors. His sadden eyes were half lidded and showed evidence of fatigue. His shoulders were slightly slumped forward, his head slowly dipping, fighting the urge to fall asleep. When Shizune came out of the emergency room doors, Naruto quickly got up on his feet, eager to know how his sannin mentor was doing.

"How is the he?" he asked desperately. "Will he be alright?"

Shizune put a reassuring hand on the young man's shoulders. "I've done all I could and he's currently stable, but now it is up to Jiraiya-sama." Naruto eyes gazed down at the ground. "You should go back home for the night Naruto, you need to rest."

"Can I go see him?"

The brunet haired woman smiled a small sad smile. "Not tonight Naruto," she answered. "Tomorrow morning you will be able to see him."

Naruto nodded tiredly and turned around to exit the hospital. He walked down the quiet hall slowly, his body in a trance, forcing him leave. Before he walked through the doors of the hospital, the cerulean orbs looked back at the double doors he had sat in front of then disappeared into the quiet streets of Konoha.

—xXx—

Tsunade never left the Hokage mansion to return back to the hospital. She felt if she did step foot in the hospital, her bad luck will follow in as well. She spent hours in front of files just trying to put the puzzle pieces together. She would have to talk to the toad elder to find out what had happened while Jiraiya was in the Hidden Rain Village, and that would have to wait. After the events of their day, the two toad elders didn't need any more stress. The blond Hokage wanted to send a message or a letter to Sasuke and Sakura, but that was impossible because she didn't even know where they were to begin with. The female sannin was worried about them since they hadn't sent a message to her for quite some time. As for the message the Yondaime left behind, she had no other choice but to consult with Kakashi tomorrow morning about the riddles.

She sat on the ground of her bedroom, overlooking the five folders opened in front of her. Both Itachi and the Sandaime were connected to the three members of team seven, each with similar and different reasons. The Sandaime had placed the three together to protect them from something and it just so happened that Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto balanced out one another as a team. It couldn't be a mere coincidence; it must have been planned long before the three entered the academy. The quarrel between the Uchiha brothers was caused because of the Kyuubi, at least that was she had interpreted from the riddle, and therefore Naruto played a role as well. Sakura was now married to Sasuke and related to Itachi through marriage; her hidden past had to do with either one or both of the Uchiha brothers. One thing she wasn't able to figure out was how the Sandaime and the older Uchiha brother were connected.

She picked up the file belonging to Itachi and looked through all the reports inside. He was a prodigy of all prodigies: number one in all his classes, graduated early out of the academy, was the youngest shinobi to become a chuunin, and was the youngest ANBU member ever. Reports from the Uchiha clan stated that the older brother had gain and mastered the usage of the Sharingan at an early age no one had predicted. The statistics on his techniques and jutsus were just unimaginable; to match his genius took the combination of several ninjas she knew off. He was the perfect prodigy, but it didn't explain how he was capable of executing the massacre. An Uchiha prodigy again a group of elite Uchihas, Itachi clearly had a disadvantage. Was there another person involved in the killing of the noble family? What caused Itachi to turn his back on his clan? Did the stress from the ANBU mission cause him to go berserk? Why did he only spare Sasuke? What made him join the Akatsuki organization?

Just looking at the files belonging to the members of team seven, the Godaime was lost as well. Naruto's file was complete, not one document seemed to be missing. For Sasuke's file, several parts of his records had been blacked out with ink and some had been replaced; the different hand writing for the time period was enough evidence. For Sakura's file, documents that referred to the years before she entered her academy were missing and there was a forged birth certificate as well. The correct and missing document had to be somewhere along with the journal that belonged to the Sandaime; it would be her only way to find out the truth about things.

She desperately wanted Jiraiya to wake so that she could consult with him, but she knew it wouldn't help her very much. Even if the white haired man was awake, he would need the time to recover, not spending his needed recuperation time pondering over the riddle his apprentice had written.

Tsunade sighed. "How did you know about all of this Minato?"

—xXx—

The door to the small apartment swung open slowly as the young man clad in orange and black walked in. After shutting the door quietly behind him, he slowly strolled over to his bed, his mind unfocused on where he was going while his body led him. When the spiky haired male was at the foot of his bed, he flopped down onto this stomach on the springing mattress without bothering to shower or change out of the clothes he was in. His half lidded eyes looked over at the desk top in front of the window. The brown picture frame stood out against the moonlight shining in. The very picture sealed within the frame brought him so many memories, memories that brought him happiness, anger, and pain. He turned his gaze from the picture frame to the head board of his bed where two valuable belongings hung; the forehead protectors belonging to his precious 'siblings'.

* * *

The large warm comforter was pulled up to cover their naked bodies. Sasuke sat up against the high propped up pillow with his arms wrapped around his cherry blossom sitting between his legs. Sakura snuggled into the warmth her lover's body gave off, resting her head against his hard chest, taking in his strong masculine scent mixed with the sweat from their activity. His face was buried in the silky pink locks, breathing in the cherry blossom scent her body gave off combined with her perspiration. His lean strong arms were around her waist, holding her possessively close. The forearm binding he had wrapped on felt awkward against her skin, but she didn't bother with it. Neither of the two could really fall asleep and a conversion between the two wouldn't last very long.

Leaning his head back against the pillow with his eyes closed, the dark haired male was deep in thought. His mind was clouded with thoughts and questions involving his past, his pink haired wife, and their possible future. Why was he left alive? He suffered through many hardships just to get by to be in his current situation. Why did he let himself get attached to her? He was drawn to her and her to him; it couldn't be stopped and would have happened eventually. Why couldn't he mute the feelings in the first place? The lost feeling came back to him after so many years; he wasn't going to toss it aside like a broken toothpick. Why did he allow her to travel with him? She wasn't willing to leave his side and deep down he was unwilling to let her go. No, there was more to it, but what? He was going to get his answer whether or not she wanted to talk about it.

"Why did you come with me?" his deep voice questioned her. The female wrapped in his arms looked up at him, unsure of what he meant. "Why didn't you go back to Konoha?"

Sakura snuggled closer to husband. "I didn't want to be separated from you."

He opened his onyx orbs to stare down at her. "That wasn't the reason you gave the dobe," he said with his eyes narrowed slightly. "And what you just said to me is different from what you said to me before."

She turned her gaze away from the daunting orbs of her lover. The cherry blossom knew sooner or later he was going to question her motive. Her fingers played with the bindings around his forearms, loosening them up to be removed.

"I didn't get to remove the bindings during our intimacy," she whispered with a small blush on her face, changing the subject.

Dark onyx orbs watched as slender smooth fingers removed the white bandages, revealing the tattoos inked upon his skin. He waited patiently for her answer, giving her time. She slowly traced the markings with her fingers, still not saying a word. Getting annoyed, Sasuke's left hand grabbed her chin and turned her head to face him.

"Tell me Sakura," the male said with a hit of anger.

His eyes were no longer the onyx orbs she always got lost in; they were crimson and spinning slowly as they started at her. The pink haired woman knew that tone of his; if she delayed her answer things could possibly turn out violent.

"My parents," she said. "They killed my parents."

"Was it Itachi who did it?" he asked, his hold on her chin didn't loosening one bit.

"I don't know," she answered. "But from what Itachi showed me, it was Kisame that killed them. Your brother didn't lay a finger on them." Sasuke freed his grasp on her chin and she kept her gaze on him then laid her head against his hard chest. "The way things were was exactly what was described on the report."

"Itachi could have created the illusion to make you believe that Kisame did kill your parents," Sasuke said bluntly, letting his eyes change back to his onyx ones. "The bastard could have done it to make you come with me."

"No," she whispered. "It just has to be them."

Sasuke felt a tear against his chest and heard a soft sniff coming from the woman in his arms. Sasuke's left hand touched the side of her head, holding her close; if only he had learned to control his anger.

"You will get your chance to find out whether it's true when we have our final encounter with him."

* * *

The room was dark and quiet as the naked body of the older Uchiha lay on the bed resting. The clean white bed sheet on the bed covered him from his stomach to his feet. His right arm was bent with his hand over his abdomen while his left arm rested at on his side. The long raven locks of the male was let lose, spread upon the white pillow his head rested on. His toned body seemed almost lifeless if no one caught his chest slowly rising and falling with his even breaths.

Itachi's eye lids open, revealing dark onyx orbs. They turned crimson when he shifted his eyes to the sole window in the room. The curtains were drawn, keeping those outside from looking in, but he knew someone was looked at the very room he was in. Killing the person would only hinder his recovery; he needed time to recuperate if he was going to face his younger brother. His final confrontation was drawing near and it would be his last. He knew the possibilities of what could happen, but there was no other chose. He was going to make sure what he set out to do in the very beginning was accomplished to the very end.

* * *

_He ran, ran as fast as his chakra pumped legs could carry him. He couldn't be late; he had to save them no matter what. The streets filled with civilians were hindering him from getting to his destination. He pushed through and jumped up to the roof tops to leap toward the building he needed to get to. When he finally reached the double doors of his destination, he pushed them open quickly and saw them._

_They were on their knees in front of the elders and council, their arms were tied behind their backs and a chakra brace on their right wrist and ankle, preventing them from using any of their jutsus. Their clothes were polluted and battered, their skin was unusually pale from the lack of sun light in their cells, and dark circles were visible under their tired eyes. Behind each one of them stood an ANBU ninja, both armed and really to take the life of the prisoner if they were to run._

_"Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura," a voice said. "Though the two of you were once ninjas of Konoha, your betrayal is a major crime to the village. Do either of you have anything to say to that?" Neither the raven haired man nor the blossomed haired woman said a word. "Do you deny any of your actions against the village of Konoha?"_

_Again neither spoke a word. He kept chanting in his mind for them to speak, to say something, but still they kept silent. He tried to speak out for them, but not a word came out of his mouth. He tired yelling, but still not a sound came out of his mouth._

_"After looking over your records, we, the council members and elders of Konoha have come to a final decision for your sentencing," another voice said. "Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura, you are here by sentence for execution."_

_Execution… they were going to die…._

_It didn't matter to him whether they stayed in the village or not anymore; all that mattered to him was that they were alive and safe. He ran toward them, he was going to take them away, get them out of the village before the lives of the two closest to him would be lost forever. Fellow ninjas stood in his way, but he pushed them aside, determined to save the raven haired man and the pinked haired woman. His extended arms were about to reach them when they vanished into thin air._

_Hearing voices behind him, he quickly turned around and found himself leaning against a railing and sealed within a chakra barrier. He pounded against it, used his wind element jutsus, but it wouldn't break. Down below he saw his two teammates, his two siblings, fighting off the ANBU ninjas. They had broken the chakra brace and were attempting to escape. He looked around to find those that were willing to help his two teammates, but the sight of them tore him apart. He saw an elderly woman and immediately recognized her as Tsunade; she was in a wheelchair with tears flowing out of her eyes and down her wrinkled face. Shizune was at her side with tears in her own eyes as she tended to her unhealthy looking mentor. He looked around and found the four jounins with special chakra brace around their neck; they were being held against the railing by their own fellow ninjas as they watched helplessly from above. He noticed the eye socket that held Kakashi's Sharingan eye was bandaged over and saw it was slowly beginning to soak up the silver haired man's blood._

_He didn't understand what was going on, but he wasn't going to let the council and elders get their way. As his eyes watched the battle, his fist kept pounding on the barrier, hoping for it to weaken. He saw a windmill blade was heading toward Sasuke; the raven haired man was too preoccupied with the ninjas in front of him, he didn't not the blade closing in on him from behind. When the raven haired man finally turned around after fighting off the ninjas, it was too late to react to avoid being hacked by the blade. He watched as a blur of pink rushed over and forcefully pushed the raven haired man away, letting the blade slice into her skin._

_"SAKURA-CHAN!" he heard himself franticly yelled out._

_Two of the four blades dug into her porcelain skin, splitting her skin apart from her lower back to her left shoulder blade. Her mouth fell open in a wordless scream as her body hit the dirt ground hard, red liquid flowing out of the wound and onto the ground, creating a puddle around the almost lifeless figure. He hit the chakra barrier harder, his anger triggering the sinister chakra within him to slow leak out. His eyes saw Sasuke looked up with his crimson eyes widen at the sight of the cherry blossom. The raven haired man got back on his feet quickly and rushed toward the pink haired beauty. Kunais and shurikens were thrown, but he didn't care and dodged as many as he could and let the rest take its hit. He would pull the weapons out and throw them back at the attackers, hitting which ever vital organ he could. The young Sharingan user was just about to reach the pink haired young woman when two needles pierced though his throat. The Uchiha's body slid to the ground and ended up right next to his pink haired teammate._

_He knew they were dying, they themselves knew that they were dying, but they still held onto the thin thread of life, their last moment of life. He saw the tears in those emerald orbs as a small smile made its way across her cherry lips. Blood seeped through her lips, staining them a darker red. Her right arm extended out for the face of the Uchiha. She slowly stroked his cheek and received a small smirk from him as blood streamed out the corners of his lips. He closed his onyx orbs as his left hand reached up for her right hand and held on to it. Those emerald orbs shut closed forever with a signal tear falling as crimson orbs reveal themselves one last time with blood slowly dripping out of the eye socket._

_He watched helplessly from afar as four ANBU stood ten feet away from the two and began to perform the same hand signs. When he finally realized what jutsu the hand seal was for, he lost control of himself. The red chakra surrounded his body and over powered the obstruction. With the barrier at last gone, he jumped down and saw he was too late._

_The last of the Uchiha clan were engulfed in black flames and everything went black._

* * *

Naruto sat up immediately with his eyes showing fright, his breathing hasten, and sweat rolling down his face; the nightmare he had was completely horrifying. Even in a dream, he couldn't save them from being executed, he couldn't help them. He didn't understand the meaning of the dream, but he knew there was a reason for it. The blond turned his head toward his clock and saw that it was only three in the morning. He let out a sigh then turned onto his side, facing the window. He needed to sleep, but he didn't want those nightmares to come back.

The young blond sannin looked up the two forehead proctors hanging on at the end of his bed. It was all he had to hold Sasuke and Sakura to their promise of returning back to the village. The scratched metal on the navy blue band bothered him though; it wasn't right to leave it like that because of what it stood for. He wanted to get it fixed so when it returned to its rightful owner they could become a team once again, that was if they did come back alive.

—xXx—

The sun slowly rose against the fogy skies making the day look gloomy. Hazel eyes watched as the fog kept the sunlight from penetrating through to make the day bright. The windows were wet with water from the cold weather. The strange weather meant something and she knew it was something bad regardless of its involvement.

The woman let out a sigh and closed the files she had opened then put them behind some books on her shelf to hide it from unwanted eyes that may enter the room. She exited her room, locking the doors behind her before setting out. Her heels were clicking against the ground as she walked out of the red building to the hospital. After she had left in a rush yesterday, she didn't inform her first apprentice to send someone with the news of her badly wounded teammate. There were visible dark circles under those chocolate orbs and slight redness from lack of sleep.

When she reached the glass doors of the white building, Tsunade hesitant about stepping into the hospital, fearing she may hear what she fears most. She shut her eyes slowly and chanted in her mind things were all righting, but it didn't help her one bit.

"Are you going to go in Tsunade-baa-chan?" a voice said beside her.

The said person turned to her right and saw the blond ninja dressed in his usual clothing, but without the forehead protector or any of his other ninja equipment. The young man didn't say another word as his cerulean eyes stayed in a trance.

"We have to face the truth sooner or later," the female Hokage said as she walked into the building.

—xXx—

"I'm heading out now kaa-san," the lazy voice of Shikamaru said right after he closed the door.

As he walked down the flight of stairs, he reached into his pouch and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, the pack of cigarettes he had only used once after that incident and never used again. There were still cigarettes in the pack, but he didn't want to use them; each one met something to him. He always carried it with him as a reminder, a reminder of all the good times he had and all the lessons he had learned. Unfortunately, it will only stay a memory along with the ear rings he wore on his pierced ears. He let out a depressing sigh and placed the pack of cigarettes back into his pouch; he wasn't going to get anywhere if he kept messing around with his thoughts.

He walked toward the familiar apartment complex to seek some needed wisdom. His chocolate colored eyes looked up at the clouds as his body lead him to his destination. Something about the clouds calmed him, but the current weather and fog wasn't going him any good. It didn't take long for him to reach the very door of the apartment of the person he was looking for. The young Nara took in a deep breath then knocked on the door. The door opened revealing a very pregnant dark haired, red orbed woman.

She smiled at the young ninja at her door. "You need to stop coming here almost every day Shikamaru," she said.

He chuckled lightly. "Gomen Kurenai-san, but I can't do that," he said. "I've been given orders by Asuma-sensei and I'm not going to let him down now."

The woman smiled and opened the door wider. "Come inside."

Shikamaru entered the small apartment and the kunoichi closed the door behind him. She went into the kitchen and poured two cups of hot tea and set one cup on the coffee table in front of the young ninja.

"Your due date is coming up isn't it?" Shikamaru asked.

"It is." The kunoichi smiles and touched her swollen belly. "It's just hard to believe that it's been so long since Asuma left," she said sadly.

"Sometimes I wonder what he would say to some of the problems that are occurring now in Konoha."

"There's something bothering you isn't there?" The young shinobi looked up at his deceased mentor's wife. "I may not be Asuma, but I'll do what I can to help you."

He took in a deep breath. "This shinobi I know is caught in between the rules that define us as a ninja and the bonds he has with my comrades," he said. He spoke to the woman to make it sound as if he was telling a story. "Which is the right path knowing there's different consequences for both?"

"Which one is more important to you Shikamaru?" she asked in a kind voice. The male looked slightly shocked at the kunoichi; she had figure out he was talking about himself. The pregnant woman sat across from the shinobi and held onto her mug of hot tea in both hands. "Do you value your comrades more or your status as a ninja in the village?"

"I don't know which is important to me," the Nara genius said. "Both have an effect on my life; I don't know which to choose."

She turned her gaze out toward the window. "Sometimes you have to break the rules in order to help your comrade, sometimes you have to follow the rules and abandon your comrade." The dark haired woman turned to look at the young man in front of her and smiled at him. "I can't make you choose, but all I can say is to follow what you think is right. You may not be able to choose now, but you will later."

Shikamaru smiled at the woman. "Arigatou Kurenai-san," he said blowing slightly to her.

* * *

Emerald orbs slowly revealed themselves as the owner opened her eye lids. She lay on her side with her husband behind her, his breath against the back of her head. Lean strong arms were wrapped around her waist and hip, his right hand placed on her inner thigh close to her core and his left on her lower abdomen. The female sannin turned her head back slightly to catch a sight of her husband; he was still fast asleep, calmness written over his face made her content.

She placed her hand over his and gently moved them away as she sat up. The cherry blossom haired woman turned around as her raven haired lover turned to lie on his back. She leaned down, supporting her weight on her left arm, and gave him a light peck on the lips. She turned and planted her feet on the ground to stand, but the soreness in her muscles kept her from leaving the bed. It wasn't just the muscle soreness, but the bruises she had too. Sakura let out a sigh; she would have to use some chakra to ease the soreness and heal her skin discoloration.

She let her hands glow green with chakra and noticed it took longer than usual for the chakra to gather into her hand. It was unmistakable, she just had to be pregnant and the developing life within her had become a part of her. Sakura stopped the flow of green chakra to her hand and touched her lower abdomen; she was scared for the future her life was going to be thrown into. As a medic, she knew how to care for a child, but not as a mother; it would take time for her to adopt into the role and accept the fact.

Sakura stopped dwelling on those thoughts; she would confirm her condition later and think of a way to tell Sasuke about it. Her top front teeth bit down gently on her lower lips as she let green chakra form once again in her hands. The kunoichi healed the all discolorations on her skin, turning it back to its flawless image before her drunken husband began his intimate actions. In a way, she brought it upon herself by getting the strongest bottle of sake and added a few ingredients to make it even stronger without knowing how the raven haired man would turn out afterward. She assumed he would be out right after the bottle was half empty, but was she wrong to guess. Sakura glided her fingers over her inner thighs, easing her muscles from the soreness she felt. The weight of the bed shifted a bit and a pair of hands trailed down her arms and over her hands.

"Can't stand up?" a husky voice whispered into her ear.

The pink haired young woman jumped slightly, startled by her husband's touch and voice; she was lost in her own thoughts that she didn't pay attention to her surroundings. She didn't answer his question and continued easing the soreness she felt. The raven haired man ran his hands up her thighs and wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned his forehead against the back of her head, his eyes taking in the view in front of him. From behind, those once onyx orbs turned crimson and watched the chakra of the kunoichi.

It was evident to his eyes that something was physically wrong with his wife. He watched as the chakra in her hand weakened a bit until she forced more chakra into her hand. He needed to consult his wife about what was wrong with her, but he didn't know how to approach the subject. Sasuke let out a silent sigh and let his eyes change back to his onyx ones, deciding that he wouldn't say a word. He decided his actions will hopefully get her to talk.

He sat up properly and pulled his wife into his chest. Sakura was confused by her husband's actions, but didn't let it distract her from what she was doing. Sasuke placed his fingers over hers and forced his chakra into her hands, making her use less of her own. Unsure of what the young man's intention was, the bubble gum haired woman lessened her usage of chakra. Sakura lessened the chakra in her hand to the point she was only using a bit just to control the chakra that was pouring into her hand from her husband's.

"Sasuke-kun there's no need–"

"Don't argue with me Sakura," he said.

"I'm–"

"I won't repeat myself," he said with a hint of irritation in his voice.

The pink haired kunoichi didn't say another word and let her husband continue. A light blush covered her cheeks, embarrassed by what the male Uchiha was doing, but she was grateful to have him at her side. As she moved her slender fingers along her inner thigh, Sasuke followed along with her, with his fingers still over hers. There was a lengthy silence between the two; only the sound of their breathing filled the room. Sasuke waited to see if Sakura was finally going to reveal something, but the kunoichi still hadn't said a thing. The raven haired man kept debating whether he should say something in order to find out what he wanted to know. His patient was wearing thin and he had no other choice but to talk to her about it.

"There's something you're not telling me Sakura," Sasuke whispered into her ear.

Sakura become tense. She immediately stopped the green chakra in her hands to escape, but Sasuke's arms wrapped around her petite figure and kept her from going anywhere. She didn't know what to say or do.

"Tell me what's going on Sakura," he ordered.

"I don't know what you're talking about Sasuke-kun," she replied in a low voice.

"Don't lie to me," he said with a hit of anger.

He grabbed her shoulders and turned her around to face him. Her head was turned to the side, away from his gaze. She bit down on her lower lips lightly, nervous about the current situation. The male knew well his tone of voice had caused her to stay quiet, but he hated being kept in the dark. Sasuke placed his right hand on the back of her neck and leaned closer toward her, leaning his forehead against hers with his eyes closed.

He took in a deep breath. "I don't like secrets being kept from me Sakura," he said calmly, holding in his anger. "I won't get angry if you tell me now."

"I'm not keeping any secrets from you Sasuke-kun," she said in a low voice.

Those onyx orbs reopened, slightly glaring at the woman in front of him. Sasuke finally had enough; he didn't want to continue guessing. She felt the grip on the back of her neck tighten and she immediately began to panic inwardly. Aware that she wasn't going to tell him either way, the raven haired man released his wife. He pulled away from her and got off the bed, not caring to look back at his pained wife. She didn't dare look at him; the kunoichi didn't want to face him just yet. He headed into the bathroom, closing the door loudly behind him and locking the door.

Sadden emerald eyes looked in the direction the male went. The kunoichi lay back down on the bed on the side her husband slept on, pulling the large blanket over her naked body. Why did life have to be so difficult for her? She felt as if a thousand tiny needles had stabbed into her heart; she hurt so much and didn't know what to do. Her heavy heart weighted too much for her now; she was no longer the same, both mentally and physically now. She closed her eyes and a single tear fell from her eyes; she wasn't going to cry anymore, she needed to be strong.

Why was he able to read her emotions and actions better than she was able to read his?

Cold water rained down on his naked body, cooling him from the anger and frustration that ran through his body. He wanted to believe what she said, but deep down he knew she was keeping something from him and it bothered him to no end. The flickering chakras and her problems with her own chakra control was enough evidence for him to conclude something was wrong. He couldn't get his mind off her reaction; it was like she wasn't expecting him to find out anything. Just last night he had forced her to talk about something she didn't want to, but he didn't have a choice, he had the right to be involved with her life. He kept thinking of ways to get her to talk and came up with two. He had to put in her a strong genjutsu using his Sharingan, but it would be cruel to do so. His other option would to seduce her and that would be an easier task to do.

Sakura was lying against the propped up pillows, her eyes staring down at her lower abdomen. Her symptoms so far were consistent with first few weeks of pregnancy and it wasn't her mind playing tricks on her body to act that way. She stroked her flat belly, eager to confirm the pregnancy, but she didn't want to do it with Sasuke in the room still. She leaned back on the pillows and looked up at the ceiling with her eyes closed; she had to be at least two weeks pregnant.

Her ears became alert at the sound of bathroom door opening and she sunk into the bed, pulling the covers over her head. She felt his chakra approaching and knew she was in for something. Sasuke pulled the large blanket off the bed, exposing the body underneath. Emerald eyes opened at the feeling of the sudden breeze. He climbed over his wife, leaning on his elbow to support his weight as he pinned her down on the bed, his body dripping wet with water. Sakura shivered slightly, feeling Sasuke's naked wet body against hers; a light blush was painted across her cheeks and she felt herself become moist. She looked into his eyes and saw the crimson orbs spinning very slowly. He leaned his forehead against hers, his face written with no emotion. Droplets of water dripped onto her face from the soaked raven hair.

She ran her fingers up his wet chest, his neck, and face. Sakura's emerald eyes looked deep into his crimson ones as her fingers combed back his wet hair. She leaned her head up and kissed him affectionately on the lips. The raven haired man placed his left hand on the back of her neck and intensified the kiss. His forced her lips to part and his tongue ravaged her mouth. Her arms wrapped around his neck and her right leg hooked around his waist. After having their lips locked for several minutes, Sasuke broke the kiss and trailed down her chin to her neck. Her moans encouraged him to continue and he did; he was going to find out what he wanted to know.

Sasuke released the hold he had on the back of her neck and used his free hand to spread her legs apart, exposing her tender opening. He gently stroked her moist entrance with his left thumb and earned a low moan from her as she arched slightly. Her hands were placed on his back, running down his peach skin slowly. When her hands landed on his hips, she tried to bring him closer to her so their lower region will connect. The male sannin smirk at her eagerness as he positioned himself at her entrance and held onto her hips to keep her from moving. Her left arm wrapped around his waist as her right was around his neck. The raven haired man slowly side himself into her moist entrance; she whimpered for her release, wanting him to take her.

Sasuke whispered huskily into her ear. "You're not going to get what you want if you don't tell me what I want to know." He licked the shell of her ear then nibbled on it. She turned her head away and blush a deeper red. "What are you hiding from me Sakura?" His tongue trailed down her neck slowly.

"Sasuke-kun…" she moaned out. "I… could…"

The male smirked for his small victory. "You can't resist Sakura," he murmured into her ear as he pulled out of her.

"I am… ah!"

Sakura was cut off when her husband thrust into her. The pinked haired woman threw her head back and cried out in pleasure. The male sannin cursed at himself; he almost got her to spill what she was hiding.

"What were you going to tell me Sakura?" he questioned as he pulled out of her. He slowly slid back into her. "You're what Sakura?"

Realizing what his intentions were, Sakura tried to resist giving into him. "I'm… not… hiding… anything…" she said between moans.

His crimson eyes looked into her emerald ones and began to spin; though she may show resistance, those eyes of hers betrayed her and just moments ago she was about to reveal something. He pulled out of her slowly and thrust back into her core leisurely. She tried desperately to escape his strong grip to buck her hips to meet his, but he held her down firmly.

"Onegai Sasuke-kun…" He pulled out of her and plunged into her hard. "Ah… Sasuke-kun…"

He thrust into her a few more times, but she still didn't say a word and only she moaned loudly, begging for the release she wanted. Unable to get the answer he seek, Sasuke drew himself completely out of his wife; neither one getting the chance to find their release. Sakura lay on the bed, breathing heavily with sweat over her body while Sasuke sat on the edge of the bed, sweat slowly rolling down his body. The kunoichi's inside ached for release, but she knew she wasn't going to get it. The secret she was keeping from him was slowly tearing them apart and it pained her greatly.

She got up on her knees and stood behind her husband. She wrapped her arms around his chest from behind and leaned her head against his back. His crimson orbs turned back to his onyx ones and shifted to look at her hands placed over his heart. His placed his large hand over hers; he felt as if his heart was torn in two. Sakura shifted her arms so that they were around his neck from behind.

"I can only think about being at your side forever," she whispered into his left ear. "But I know it may not last very long."

The male's face was written with no emotion; he didn't know what to say to his beloved wife. He held in all his emotions, even all the rage that built up in him that was met for the kunoichi. He would never lash out at her no matter how painful it was for him to keep it in; she didn't deserve to be treated that way. Deep down, Sasuke believed he was wrong her, but she thought otherwise.

Sakura kissed his temple and got off the bed, heading into the bathroom. She closed the door silently behind her without locking it and sunk to the ground, leaning against the door. The pink haired woman hugged her body; she just needed a little time to confirm what she needed to know before facing the man.

Sasuke clenched his fists tightly, wanting to channel his mixed emotions into something; no, he needed to lose his mind for just one day to forget what he had done. He wanted to drown his mind to push away the hated memories. The raven haired man stood from the bed, heading to the small closet to dress up. After doing so, he looked back at the closed door of the bathroom then left the room.

* * *

Naruto followed the female Hokage up the flight of stairs to the top floor of the hospital building. Tsunade wanted some time to think and the elevator wouldn't provide her with much time. They exited the doors and headed toward the end of the hallway. By the shut doors stood Anko and Genma, fully awake.

"Ohayo, Hokage-sama," they both said at the sight of the village leader.

Tsunade nodded her head at the two. "Naruto wait here until I say you can go in," she said to the blond before disappearing behind the double doors.

Shizune was checking the vital functions of the white haired sannin on the bed, Kakashi was leaning against the wall beside the door, and the male toad elder was on Jiraiya's bed. Tsunade pulled out a photo from her pocket of the note Minato had left. She didn't want to bring the real one out fearing she would need it for later purpose.

"Read it to yourself and don't say a word about it to anyone," Tsunade ordered.

The silver haired jounin took the photo with a nod; his visible eye slowly scanning the note that was in the picture. Shizune had finished her task and turned to her mentor.

"We've done all we can," the brunet said. "He's in a coma and we don't know when he will wake. I have two nurses coming in every three hours to check on Jiraiya-sama."

Tsunade nodded. "I need you to head down to the morgue and begin the autopsy on the body that was brought back."

"Hai," the brunet said. Shizune reached into the medical folder belonging to Jiraiya and pulled out a photo. "I took this before he was sent into healing." She handed it to Tsunade. "It's a code he left behind."

Tsunade took the photo from her assistant and turned her attention to the toad. "Fukasaku-san," the Hokage said.

"There's no need for formalities Tsunade," the toad replied looking over at the sadden woman. "Just calling me tou-san is enough. I've gotten used to being called that by Jiraiya and you." The toad shifted his body to face the Hokage fully. "Tell me Tsunade, the boy outside, is he Minato's son?"

Tsunade nodded. "He is, but Naruto doesn't know about it." She sighed and looked over at her teammate. "I made it Jiraiya's mission to tell him, but it seems it would have to wait."

The toad nodded, understanding what the woman meant. "Kaa-san has returned to Myobokuzan to give the others the news about Jiraiya," Fukasaku said. "As you know, little Jiraiya capture two ninjas from the Rain village, you may want to have them interrogate more to find out additional information little Jiraiya wasn't able to get." Tsunade nodded in agreement. "More importantly, did little Jiraiya ever mention to either you or Kakashi about the Child of Prophecy?"

—xXx—

Naruto sat on the bench by the doors, waiting to be allowed in. Shizune had left moments ago to head toward the morgue. Yamato came back from buying some breakfast for his fellow jounins and happened to buy extras. Knowing that the young blond didn't eat due to the growl of his stomach, he handed one of the bento boxes to Naruto.

"Eat this down Naruto," Yamato said. "It's not good to starve your body."

The young blond man nodded and took the bento box, mumbling thanks and slowly began eating. By the time he was done, Tsunade came out of the room with Fukasaku following her from behind, riding on an odd looking toad.

"You may go in now Naruto," the Hokage said.

The Kyuubi vessel bolted through the doors without a word. Yamato entered the room only to give Kakashi is bento box and went back to guarding the doors. The blond walked over to the bed and looked at his sannin mentor's face; memories of his training times with the perverted sage played through his mind. It hurt just to have those memories when it was about a person he was really close to.

"You may stay as long as you want Naruto," Kakashi said climbing out the window with his bento box in hand. "If you need anything, Yamato and Genma are outside."

The young blond sannin nodded to show he understood his eyes fixated on the coma patient. Naruto pulled up a chair by the bed and just stared at his sannin mentor.

—xXx—

Tsunade and Fukasaku were in the Hokage office looking over some information. The toad elder was looking through Naruto's file; he had requested it because he wanted to learn more about the blond. They had recently brought the two captive ninjas to the village's information bureau. The head of the department, Morino Ibiki, was trusted to lead the integration and to get every ounce of information he could on the Akatsuki out of the two captives, using whatever method he saw fit.

"Tell me about Naruto's teammates Tsunade," Fukasaku requested.

"Uchiha Sasuke, sole survivor of the Uchiha Clan massacre, was at the top of his class in the ninja academy. From what Kakashi had told me before, he and Naruto had a relation that was somewhat similar to sibling rivalry. Things happened and Sasuke ended up leaving Konoha in search for Orochimaru for power." Tsunade remembered what had happened; the pain Naruto and Sakura went through, grief Kakashi felt, and the injured ninjas. Now it's all in the past. "Currently he's out there somewhere, seeking his revenge. Sasuke had only contacted us once, sending us a letter with information about Akatsuki." Tsunade took out the letter and gave it to the toad to look over. "His brother was the one that massacred the members of their clan, Uchiha Itachi, also a member of the Akatsuki organization."

"Akatsuki, as in the organization Jiraiya was seeking information about?" the toad elder asked and received a nod from the woman.

"The letter that Sasuke had sent informed us about a rumor he heard involving the Akatsuki," the blond woman said. "It talked about betrayal within the organization and that his brother was the one behind it. That is why I specify told Jiraiya not to engage them."

"I see. What about Naruto's other teammate?"

"My apprentice Haruno Sakura," Tsunade said sadly. "She's a very bright young woman, always determined to reach her goals and dreams. Sakura was the light of team seven, taking the role as a younger sister toward Naruto. She was captured by Orochimaru not very long ago and is now traveling with Sasuke." A small smile grazed her lips. "She sent a letter once, stating she and Sasuke married recently. Only to us very few is she now known as Uchiha Sakura."

"Are Sasuke and Sakura considered as criminals to the village?" Fukasaku asked.

Tsunade felt frozen in place, she didn't want to answer the question, but it was true. "Yes, they are S-ranked criminals to Konoha." It pained her to say those words. "Missing ninja of the village, but Naruto, Kakashi, and the others, including myself are trying to get find a way to help them."

Tsunade opened the file belonging to Kakashi and pulled out a photo of the young team seven. She placed the photo in front of Fukasaku for him to see. Whoever had taken the picture didn't bother gathering the team together in front of the camera to have a proper picture taken. The white haired jounin had one hand in his pocket while the other hand held the orange book that covered the man's face. A young Sasuke had both his hands in his pockets and was barely staring back with an emotionless expression. A long haired Sakura was slightly looking toward the camera had a small smile on her lips. Naruto stood at the front, staring back at the camera with a huge smile and holding up both hands with a peace sign. Fukasaku wanted to see that smile upon the boy himself, instead of the gloomy face he had seen recently.

"The boy really is something. I have no doubts that Jiraiya will live on," the toad elder said. "He would want to wake to see the smile on the boy again."

* * *

Sasuke was unable to focus correctly; he was somewhat emotionally unstable, but the male would never admit it. He had locked up and suppressed too much throughout his life since the lost of his family and never found a way to dealt with it. His unstable emotions caused anger and made him act rash toward things. When he was in Konoha, he would avoid encountering families on the streets, avoid getting close to his teammates, and train to no end. When he was in Oto, he constantly trained to get stronger and a few times he had turned to alcohol to escape his emotions. There were times when the Oto shinobis would challenge him during his unstable state and end up being beaten so badly that Kabuto decided to use them for his revolting experiments.

He looked back at his life; things were much simpler when he only needed to look out for himself. Now that Sakura was in the picture, the male didn't know what to do. Training wasn't going to do him any good, especially when he couldn't unscramble his own emotions. The reason why he trained was to get stronger in order to protect the one he love, but he couldn't have her in his mind right now. The raven haired man needed to clear his thoughts, letting the day disappear so he could start over.

Sasuke headed toward the kitchen with no intention of returning back to the room until later on in the day. When the raven haired man arrived at his destination, the young man grabbed a few things he could eat to satisfy his hunger and several bottle of sake with him. He didn't bother looked at how strong the alcohol would be; all Sasuke wanted to do was to empty out his mind of the past few events that had happened between him and Sakura. Afterwards he headed to the roof of the building, taking a seat on the ledge and leaning back against the solid wall. He stared off into the distance, taking hold of a bottle of sake and drinking the alcohol. He let the fluid burn down his throat, letting it slowly take its effect upon his mind and body. He wanted to forget, he wanted to wash away the things he didn't want to remember.

After staying locked up in the bathroom for quite some time, Sakura came out knowing it wasn't going to do her any good. The sannin knew her husband had left, but didn't know where he headed to. She dressed in simple clothing and headed to the kitchen to get some food and returned to the bedroom. The kunoichi sat on the bed and slowly ate. She didn't have an appetite, but she consumed what she needed to stay healthy, not just for her own sake.

With nothing else to do, Sakura began to clean the room. She picked up her torn clothing and undergarments and remembered the events of last night. Nothing seemed unusual during their intimacy until afterwards when Sasuke began to question her late last night about her motive for traveling with him. Then just this morning, he was somewhat concerned about her than turned to interrogate her. It was like he had taken a stroll through her mind to find out what she was been hiding. He pushed her to talk to find out whether what he found out was actually true.

She tossed all her torn clothing away for there was no use in sowing them up because they were in pieces. Sakura gathered the rest of the clothing lying around and headed into the bathroom to begin the laundry. Her mind was just lost in its own world as her body completed the tasks she had set. She worked quickly, afraid that if she took her time her emotions would get the best of her and she would end up scrubbing a hole in one of the clothing. As the female sannin hung the clothes to dry in the sun, she couldn't help but think Sasuke was out there somewhere abusing himself after what she had done. Sakura sat on the balcony ledge and stared off into the distance. She couldn't help but feel as if the raven haired man's presence was behind her, holding her. The kunoichi leaned back against the wall and hugged her body, feeling miserable about what she did.

Two empty sake bottles laid on the side as the male held another bottle in his hand. He hadn't blacked out yet, but his pink haired wife was still on his mind. The sannin felt a weight against his chest as if Sakura was leaning her body into his. Sasuke couldn't shake off the feeling no matter how many times he chanted in his mind she wasn't really there. It kept reminding him of what he had done to her and he ultimately got fed up with it. He drank the contents in the bottle of sake he had in his hand to drown his memories of his actions; the liquid rushing out of the bottle and into his opened mouth, some dripping out the corner of his parted lips. After finishing the alcohol, the male tossed the bottle aside, letting it shatter into pieces afterward. He used the back of his hand to wipe away the liquid still around his mouth as his half lidded eyes stared out into the distance.

Sasuke's vision of the scenery in front of him began to blur as a different landscape appeared. Before him was a beautiful garden with a small waterfall fountain, colorful flowers planted, a cherry blossom tree in full bloom, and a small shrine within the shade of the tree. He felt something poke his right cheeked and turned to see a little girl with short raven hair and big apple green eyes. The young girl looked like Sakura, but the only difference was the hair color. She looked innocently back at him then turned her head around to see a young teen. The teenager was the very image of Sasuke when he was younger, even the hair. The little raven haired girl looked back at Sasuke with a smile, mouthed something to him, and gave him a kiss on the cheek before running toward the teen. The sannin reached out to try to grab hold of the girl's arm to prevent her from leaving, but the image disappeared and all the male was able to grasp was air.

Sasuke sighed and rubbed his temples. Though his body and mind was intoxicated, his mind played a trick on him with a vision he didn't understand. He didn't want to go back to face Sakura just yet; his memories of the issues between them still dwelled in his mind and he wanted it out. The sannin thought maybe after another few bottles of alcohol will his mind be finally cleared of his actions.

* * *

Tsunade sat on the large chair facing the window as she looked down at the piece of paper Kakashi had given to her. The white haired jounin had written down what he thought the riddle meant and now the Hokage was comparing it with her own interpretations. The blond was having some trouble reading what the jounin had written because he scribbled all over the paper, filling in blanks he felt.

"Did the Sandaime say anything to you when he first formed the team for you to instruct Kakashi?" Tsunade said, turning to face the shinobi.

The said shinobi lowered the blue book that covered his face. "Not really," the white haired man answered. "He said that Naruto was a moron and thought that giving him to me was the best then mentioned that Sasuke was also on the team."

"Did he say anything about Sakura?"

Kakashi shook his head. "I looked into Sakura's background after I first met them," the jounin said. "I knew she was placed on the team because she was able to balance Naruto's lack in knowledge, genjutsu, and chakra senses, but I was curious about why she was placed on the team containing us three. Naruto, Sasuke, and I have lived our lives as orphans while she grew up with a family." He removed the book from the front of his face. "Sasuke, Naruto, and I have things in common that it was easy working with them on certain thing, but Sakura didn't seem to fit in much. When I stumbled across her file, I found something very interesting inside."

Tsunade crocked a brow at the man. "And what would what something be?"

The copy ninja walked to the front of the large desk and pulled out the orange book from his back pouch. The blond raised a brow in bewilderment; what did the first volume of Icha Icha Paradise have to do with what the jounin found in the kunoichi's file? Kakashi opened the book and pulled out a photo, handing it to the female sannin that sat in front of him. The Godaime took the photo thinking whatever was in the picture wasn't going to be a big deal, but she was wrong. Her chocolate orbs widen slightly in disbelieve of the three in the picture; to have a photograph with the Uchiha brothers and Sakura was just unexpected.

There sat a young Itachi who was probably around nine or ten with a small smile on his face. His hair style wasn't any different from what it is now and he didn't have the forehead protector on. Two familiar faces were leaning on the older Uchiha brother's back as if to get a piggy back ride. The young raven haired boy around four or five had a smile on his face and the adorable pink haired girl smiled happily back as well. The joy showed from the three seemed only possible in a dream, but the photo proved it was evident.

"Did you ever show this picture to Sasuke or Sakura?" the blond woman asked.

The jounin shook his head. "Their relation then wasn't what you see in the photo; Sasuke was cold toward Sakura," the copy ninja said. "They never showed the happiness display on the photo. There were a few times Sakura showed a smile like that, but it was clearly a fake."

"You noticed too." The blond woman sighed and placed the photo back on the desk. "Do you believe this really is them in the photo Kakashi?"

"I think it is and there is enough evidence that may be able to prove it," the shinobi said. "There's-"

"You're referring to the missing documents in Sakura's file and the forged birth certificate," Tsunade said, cutting off the white haired man. The blond took out the file belonging to the younger Uchiha brother. "Several reports have been replaced or blacked out with ink in Sasuke's. This can't be just a coincidence."

"Didn't Itachi's file mention anything about Sakura?"

The Hokage shook her head. "I think there are missing documents in Itachi's file as well."

The sannin looked at the photo again and noticed something odd. Sasuke was younger than the pink haired kunoichi by a few months, yet in the photo it was clear he was at least a year older than Sakura. Her brow lowered in suspicion; it is impossible for a boy to look a year younger than intended to be. Tsunade had seen the photos of team seven when they were together then and Sasuke looked the same age as his teammates, but this one photo showed he was older than Sakura.

"Sasuke looks older than Sakura in this picture," the Hokage said then handed the photo to the white haired man for him to take a look. "Their physical appearance is evidence of that." She took out a photo that continued the entire team when they first formed. "But in this photo, his physical appearance clearly shows he is the same age as Naruto and Sakura."

"What about his birth certificate?"

"It states he is the same age as them," she replied. "The only way for us to find the answer we seek is to find that journal."

* * *

As the young pink haired Uchiha matriarch gathered the dry clothing and folded them neatly, she felt her body weaken from the simple task. She had already eaten lunch, but she felt deprived of energy. Sakura placed the neatly folded clothes into their packs and headed into the bathroom to take a relaxing bath. A warm soak in the water would relax her and let her sleep a bit more comfortably.

She walked over to the large tub and turned on the water for it to run warm. The tub was big enough to fit at least two people with enough room to spare to move around freely. As the bathtub slowly filled, the pink haired woman stripped down completely. The kunoichi inspected her body in the mirror's reflection; she didn't look any different, but she felt different. Her slender hourglass figure complemented her slender long legs; her muscle was hidden beneath a thin layer of fat, giving her a nice stature with curves. Though on the outside she may look untainted, but Uchiha Sasuke had made his mark on the cherry blossom. She stared at her naked body, her eyes landing on the jewel around her neck. He gave that to her for a reason, his actions spoke for him; he loved her too much to let her go.

**_'You shouldn't hate yourself for what did to him,'_** her inner ego said. **_'You had a reasonable reason for doing so.'_**

_'He must hate me.'_

**_'He doesn't hate you; he just needs sometime for himself.'_**

_'Things looked prefect after we had sex, but things started to turn out ugly when he started questioning me yesterday night! This morning things got worse!'_

**_'If Sasuke-kun did hate you, he would be long gone.'_**

Sakura sighed and turned off the running water; she didn't want to argue with her inner anymore. She stepped into the tub, took a deep breath, and then submerged her entire body into the warm water. After a few seconds, the pink haired woman lifted her head out of the water. She combed her wet locks back and rested her back against the tub end.

Realizing the raven haired man wasn't around Sakura took the chance to confirm the pregnancy. She took in a deep breath then forced her chakra into her right hand. The green chakra glowed dully in her hand and she wasn't having any trouble controlling it at the moment. She placed her chakra fused hand into the water and she ran her hand over her smooth belly. The chakra slowly began to flicker and glow brighter; she immediately stopped, it has been verified.

The cherry blossom was pregnant with an Uchiha heir.

The blossomed haired woman hugged her body as tears slowly gathered in her eyes; they weren't tears of grief, but tears of joy. Using her fingers, the young mother to be wiped away the tears in her eyes; Sasuke's goal of wanting to restore his clan was going to come true. She splashed some of the warm water in her face, closed her eyes, and turned her head toward the ceiling.

The kunoichi's body was no long what it used to be, for deep within her womb of the cherry blossom, a new life was growing. The blood her heart pumped to enable her to live was now traveling down to her womb, supplying blood to the tiny developing chakra that now resided there; a new heartbeat gaining strength from its mother. That new life was a sign of a new beginning for them, the symbol of their love for one another, a bond that could never be broken.

_'I'm going to be a mother….'_

* * *

Kakashi had returned to his post back in the hospital on Tsunade's orders; the young looking woman said she would try to look for the journal and contact the shinobi if his services were needed. The female leader was currently looking through the library in the mansion; there were books pilled on the ground, some clumsily placed back on the shelves where they were once at. She quickly flipped through every book to check if the journal was stashed within the pages, but still no luck. Half way through, the female sannin still didn't find anything. The Hokage pulled out a huge book from the shelf and dropped it to the ground with a loud thump. She looked at the bookshelf in front of her and noticed a wood pattern that didn't match. She closely examined the wood and become aware of a small hole that was big enough to stick a finger in. Taking the chance, the blond woman stuck her right pointer finger in to hook onto the wood then pulled. As the lumber protruded, a small hidden cupboard was revealed containing what she had been looking for.

Taking out the journal and document hidden inside, Tsunade hide it between the pages of the large medical book she dropped early. Grabbing the book, the woman made her way to the door and quickly rushed back to her office, leaving the library in a total mess; she wasn't going to waste any time to find out what was written in the journal and the documents.

* * *

The day was growing old as a fiery orange took over the once blue sky. The drunken Uchiha slightly stumbled through the halls back to the living quarters he was staying at. His body was leaning against the wall to support himself as his blurred vision guided him. When he reached the door of his destination, the man struggled with the knob; he was having some trouble gripping the metal tight enough to turn it. When he finally opened the door, the man entered quickly and shut the door behind him loudly.

Sakura's eyes shot open immediately at the loud sound; she had fallen asleep in the tub due to the relaxing feeling of the warm water. She felt the chakra in the room, but the instability of the chakra made it difficult for her to figure out who it was. She grabbed the towel and slowly stood up from the water then wrapped it around her body. When she finally realized that Sasuke had returned, she got out of the tub quickly, being careful so that she didn't slip. The cherry blossom wanted to tell the man that they were going to be parents in nine months and that she was sorry for being secretive about it when she had yet to verify it. She was going to make it up to him one way or another.

His intoxicated body felt too warm for his comfort and he began to remove his clothes; he knew the familiar chakra presence in the bathroom and he was going to take his chance to spoil her. His mind was lost, thinking it was the night before; the memories of his actions were locked away to be waken later. Only left in his boxers, the male swung open the door revealing the wet blossomed wrapped in a towel. He walked over to her until they were face to face; he grabbed her hip, pulling her against his body and leaning his head down toward hers. Sakura looked directly into those onyx eyes and watched as it changed into the crimson orbs as a smirk made its way across his lip. Her nose cringed at the strong scent of alcohol and she knew Sasuke wasn't himself.

"You're drunk Sasuke-kun," she whispered lowly.

His smirk grew wider as he brought his right hand to the back of her neck and he slammed his lips against his wife's cherry ones. The strong alcohol taste in his breath bothered her and she tried to break the kiss, but the strong grip the raven haired man had on her kept her from going anywhere. She took a step back only to have the man take a step forward, his lips still connected to hers. Sakura lips were parted forcefully by her husband's tongue and she couldn't help but let out a low moan; at times she hated how she could make her feel this way. He ravaged the cavern of her mouth, mixing his saliva with hers. The rough yet semi sloppy kiss make the kunoichi feel as if she was being forced upon, but this was her drunken husband. When they parted, the cherry blossom was lost in words as she tried to catch her breath.

Sasuke's warm tongue ran over her parted lips, trailed her jaw, and went to her neck. The inebriated woman tilted her head, giving the man more access. He forcefully pushed her against the cold wet walls, making the woman cringed from the pain. Her hands tightly gripped into the towel wrapped around her naked frame, her mind lost in thought. The male grabbed hold of her wrists and prayed her arms apart. The towel came loose and opened up, revealing her naked torso. His large hands roughly groped every part of her body, making the woman gasp but wince at the pain.

Sakura didn't understand why, but she was slightly tense in the arms of her lover. He freed his hold on her waist and trailed up her body. He grabbed her breasts and squeezed them tightly as he massaged them in a circular motion, causing the woman to arch into him. The raven haired man continued to nip on her fair skin, leaving behind red spots. He released her mounts from his hold and cupped her face. The crimson eyes of the Sharingan looked deep into her emerald eyes and then claimed her lips brutally. Sakura's hand pushed against his chest to get him to stop, but the drunken male wouldn't budge. Her words of protest were muffled as her husband pressed his lips harder against hers. Sasuke's hand moved to her thighs and lifted her up, pushing his body against hers to keep her up. His left hand held onto her body and two fingers from his right hand entered her core. He rubbed her inner walls then moved his fingers in a scissor motion, stretching her. Her body suddenly felt relaxed at the pleasured feeling as she muffled out her lover's name.

Sasuke sucked on her lover lips as he kept stretching her opening. When he was satisfied with her wetness, he withdrew his fingers from her, removed his boxers, and plunged his member into her. He smirked when she let out an ear pitching scream of bliss; his drunken mind was enjoying every moment he had with her. He brought her over to the large sink counter and laid her down with her legs dangling off, their unity between their sexes never breaking. Her embarrassed face didn't dare look at the smirking man and turned to the mirror to her left. There reflection of their bodies entwined together made her blush and she quickly turned her head away from the image. A chuckle escaped Sasuke as he rested his head at crook of her neck, with one crimson eyes looking at the mirror.

"Too shy to watch us have sex blossom?" he asked hotly into her ear. The pink haired woman nodded and another chuckled escaped the male as he pulled out slightly. "Your innocence makes it hard to believe you're not a virgin anymore."

The kunoichi flushed a deeper red from embarrassment; even though he was drunk, the male was able to tease her. Her husband thrust into her and she arched her back and moaned out loudly. Her half lidded eyes watched their reflection as the raven haired man thrust in and out of her. The hard counter top made it uncomfortable; her left shoulder hit the knob for the water, her head hit the wall, and her buttock was grinded against the edge, but the pleasure couldn't be denied. The crimson eyes of the Sharingan spotted the tub, giving the Uchiha an idea; the man wanted to see his flower shimmer.

The shinobi stopped pumping into his blossom and pulled out of her. The pink haired woman pouted, but her husband only smirked at her. Sasuke's large hand wrapped around the petite waist of the pink haired woman and carried her up. He walked them over to the tub and stepped in. Sakura shivered slightly, the water felt cold until her body adjusted to the temperature.

The male Uchiha freed his wife from his grasp and trailed his hands up her sides as he licked, sucked, nipped, and bit down on her skin, leaving his mark on her flawless looking skin. The woman threw her head back and moaned, her fingers gripping on to his shoulders tightly. His hands touched held her smooth breasts and gave it a tight squeeze, making the woman cry out in pleasure. Satisfied with her call, Sasuke turn his flower around and made the familiar hands signs for a clone. A clone of her lover appeared in front of her with a smirk and kissed her fully on the lips.

Sakura returned the kiss and felt the hands of the man behind her spread her legs apart and his fingers slowly trace her opening. The kunoichi whimpered; the pleasurable torture was beginning. The clone broke the kiss and planted butterfly kisses down her flesh to her breasts; the young woman was rose higher so her breasts were out of the water. The clone placed his hot mouth over her right breast and let his other hand kneaded the other. Her whimpers encouraged for the action to continue; the clone flicked his tongue over her nipple and sucked on it hungrily. The feeling was just overwhelming her mind; the kunoichi arched her back and moaned, feeling the real Sasuke nip at her back and massage the muscles of her inner thigh. The clone switched to gives the neglected breast the same attention, making the woman groan out her lover's name.

The Uchiha matriarch's body was lift out of the water, her legs placed on the side of the tub, her head resting on the shoulder of her husband. The real Sasuke was supporting her up, watching as she was pleasured by his replica. The copy was done entertaining himself with her smooth mounts and planted kisses down her belly to her core. The duplicate used his warm wet tongue and slowly ran it across her entrance, making her wet and moan out. Her hands were entangled in the raven looks of the clone in front of her, pleading for him to continue. Spreading her legs for the access he needed, the male at her opening delved his tongue into her core, making the woman arch her back and moan out the name of her husband loudly.

"Oh… more… ah… Sasuke-kun," she panted out.

Sweet form on her body and dripped into the water in the tub. His tongue twisted and twirled inside of her, lapping up every drop of her sweet fluid. His bit down on her clitoris and the pink flower screamed out her lover's name as she came. The double covered her dripping core with his mouth and drank up her juice. After cleaning the bliss intoxicated woman, the clone withdrew his tongue from the woman and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Sakura's body sunk into the water, her breath coming out in pants.

The raven haired man sat her on his lap and spread her legs open. He used his right hand to rub her entrance, making the young woman moan. His right hand ran up her abdomen and grabbed her left breast, giving it a tight squeeze. The kunoichi threw her head back and moaned, her left hand loosely gripping onto his left forearm and her right hand over his. The male sannin slowly swirled her harden peak in circles, making his wife gasp out at the pleasure. He then inserted two fingers into her, slowly pumping them in and out.

"Faster Sasuke-kun…" she gasped out. "Let me come."

Her saliva was slowly dripping out the corner of her mouth, her hand holding onto him as tight as her bliss intoxicated body would let her. Her moans were mixed with her gasps; music to the ears of her lover. Sasuke freed his hold on her breast and wrapped his arm around his flower. Sakura slouch her body to get her husband to pump in deeper, but the man wouldn't let her get too far. Her actions made the male harden and she felt it against her lower back. Sweat formed on their bodies and dripped into the water. Knowing his wife was going to reach her peak, the raven haired man removed his fingers from her core. The pink haired kunoichi panted heavily as her saliva continued to drip out the corner of her parted mouth; her body was completely lost in bliss.

"We're not done yet my blossom," a husky voice whispered into her ears.

Sasuke switched their positions so that her back was against the tub. His tongue lapped up her saliva before he kissed her forcefully yet passionately on the lips, the alcohol stench no longer bothering her. She wrapped her arms around the man, kissing him heartily. He positioned himself at her entrance and plunged into her without a warning. The woman muffled out a shriek at the unexpected invasion; she would never get use to him just entering her suddenly. She couldn't deny the pleasure for it was an addiction that couldn't be broken; this was most likely how they would end up making up for their mistakes toward one another.

She opened her emerald eyes and stared into the half lidded crimson orbs. She slowly got lost in them and her vision of their surrounding changed into something she never expected. The strong genjutsu created by the raven haired man would only break when he wanted it; her only job was to enjoy the illusion and the pleasure. The pink haired woman broke the kiss and cupped his face; those crimson eyes showed one emotion while his face showed another. Sakura brought his head down and placed a kiss on his forehead, on the bridge and tip of his nose, then finally his lips. Sasuke returned the soft kiss then trailed kisses along to her neck.

The Uchiha matriarch let out a pleasurable sigh as those bright emerald eyes looked around and found themselves in a beautiful clearing. She knew it wasn't real, but the environment felt real to her. Their bodies lay partly submerged in the lake bank as they made love. Cherry blossom trees in full bloom and stunning flowers surrounded the area with a starry night sky hovering above them. A full moon glowed brightly, giving off a warm mood. She felt Sasuke had created the illusion for them, for her to enjoy their moment. Sakura wrapped her arms around her lover, embracing him to show her appreciation for him.

Lost within the image of the scenery, the raven haired man pulled out half way and thrust into his flower. The woman arched her back and moaned out, wrapping her long slender legs around her lover's waist. Her finger nails ranked down on his peach skin, leaving behind imprints. Sasuke trust into his blossom and she came screaming out her husband's name. Sasuke watched her pleasured body release, his member hardening within her as her juice came flowing out, coating his length. The feeling of being stretched from his arousal made the woman moan out.

"Again… Sasuke-kun…"

The male nodded at her request and wrapped his right arm around his woman's waist. He carried her up and out of the water, the connection between their lower bodies never broken. He brought her over to one of the cherry blossom trees and forcefully pushed her back against the smooth bark. The female sannin let out a pained gasp. His large coarse hand trailed over her arms, lifting them up and entangling his fingers with hers. The crimson orbs looked at the goddess before him then claimed her lips.

The female sannin moved her waist in a circular motion against her husband's and felt him harden within her. He freed her arms and grabbed hold of her waist as her arms draped over his broad shoulders. He drew himself out at slammed right back into her. Her muffled moans were finally out when the kiss was broken. Sasuke thrust into his blossom, his crimson eyes watching her every expression, taking in her image as he continued on. Her blush covered cheeks, her half lidded emerald eyes, her parted swollen lips; and her luscious body was all his and only his to taint. Sasuke continued to pump into his wife until the woman orgasm and screamed out his name loudly. Two more thrust and the male came and spilled his seeds into her.

Sakura felt weak; her legs unwrapped itself from the male's waist and her arms fell to her side. If Sasuke wasn't there to support her up, she would be limp on the ground. He pulled himself out of her completely and carried her bridal style over to a futon set in the clearing. He laid her down gently on the sheets and climbed over her body. He kissed her gently on the lips and trailed butterfly kisses along her jaw to her neck then down to her chest. The raven haired shinobi left several love bites along the way then trailed over to her left breast. He kissed her nipple then flicked his tongue over it, making the woman moan. Her neglected breast was being massaged as his took her nipple into his mouth and sucked on it eagerly. She arched her back and gripped into the sheets. He soon switched to give her other breast fair treatment, making the woman wet. Sasuke trailed kisses down her smooth belly and placed his forehead against her abdomen.

"…Sakura…"

"Onegai Sasuke-kun," she whispered out lowly, cutting him off. "One more time…"

"Ah…"

Sasuke moved so that he was face to face with the cherry blossom, his forearms on either side of her head, supporting his body weight. His mind was no longer intoxicated and he knew there was something wrong with his cherry blossom; Sakura would be tired by now, but she was requesting for them to go on. His right hand cupped her face and he leaned down, kissing her tenderly as his knees spread her legs apart. The shinobi slid his shaft into the goddess then pulled out half way.

They broke the kiss and stared at one another. Her left hand cupped his cheeks, her thumb running across his lips. He kissed her finger then plunged into her core. Sakura arched her back and moaned; the half lidded eyes of her lover watching her. He set a quick pace, plunging deep into her, making the woman moan out his name.

"…Sakura…" he muttered.

"Don't... ever… leave… me," she whimpered out.

His crimson orbs stared at her face. "…I won't…" he whispered out then claimed her swollen lips.

He continued to thrust into her until Sakura broke the kiss and came screaming his name. Sasuke propelled himself one last time into her and spilled his seeds into her. His tired body pulled himself out of the cherry blossom before he collapsed on top of her. They were both breathing heavily; Sakura's cheeks were flushed brightly while Sasuke had a light blush over his own. The raven haired man dug his face into the crook of her neck and wrapped his arms around his flower.

"Kai…" he whispered, releasing the genjutsu.

Their surrounding slowly changed back to that of the bedroom, their bodies lying on the bed as sweat continued to drip. There was a lengthy silence between them, only the sounds of their breathing filled the room.

"Sasuke-kun –"

"I shouldn't have done what I did to you…" he whispered loud enough for her to hear. "I shouldn't have acted the way I did…"

Sakura realized he was referring to his action toward her. "It's-"

"I am at fault for all your sadness and pain…" he whispered. Sasuke hadn't moved from his position, he didn't want to look her in the eye. "I didn't want to get attached to you… I didn't want you to come with me …I simply don't want to lose you…" he muttered the last part, but the cherry blossom heard him Sakura held her husband in her arms. "When I first saw the chakra, I knew it wasn't normal…"

"I –"

"I thought something was wrong with you… I was afraid of losing you…" He murmured the last part that his wife wasn't able to catch it.

Her vision blurred slightly as tears gathering in her apple green eyes. "Gomen, I should have told you earlier." She brushed his bangs away to see one of his crimson orbs staring at her. "Onegai Sasuke-kun, look at me." The male shifted so that he was face to face with the kunoichi. She cupped his cheeks and smiled a small smile. "It's not your fault so you have nothing to apologize for. If I had just told you, things probably wouldn't have turned out this way."

"What's going on Sakura?" he questioned.

Sakura took a deep breath and looked into his eyes. "I'm pregnant Sasuke-kun…"

Sasuke didn't respond to her; not a word, a sound, or any sort of movement came from the man. He gazed deeply into her eyes, the words were still settling into his mind, echoing. When it stopped, he continued to stare at the young woman. Sakura bit her lower lip, nervous about her husband's reaction; the agonizing silence and the inability to read what he was thinking made it worse. She wanted to push him away and run to lock herself in the bathroom away from him, but his actions told her everything she needed to know.

The raven haired man held his wife in her arms, embracing her tightly in his lean strong arms. The cherry blossom held back her sob and held her husband close. He held her close and she was unable to his face which was buried in the crook of her neck. On the very face of the male that hadn't smile in the longest time was a tiny smile of happiness.

Those once crimson orbs turn back to their onyx ones. Sasuke moved and stared at the pink haired goddess he called his wife.

"Arigatou Sakura…" he spoke out softly then kissed her passionately.

* * *

Special appreciation to my great fanfic buddy: animequeen100.

**Hello again readers. Thank you to all of those that reviewed. It's another late update, but with a long chapter filled with SASUSAKU moments, fluff, line, lemon, and stuff. I've noticed that there are less reviews coming in. Is the story dragging on that readers are losing interest?**

**That dream that Naruto had… I'm sorry Naruto! I wanted to have Kurenai to appear at least once so I created that scene with Shikamaru. I think I made Sasuke a tad bit OOC, but it flowed nicely.**

**To those that do reread previous chapters, you may have noticed some changes/additions to the chapters. No worries, I just read through it and found some mistakes and stuff and went back to correct it. The plot won't change at all.**

**Please review! It is greatly appreciated! Virtual treats for all!**


	29. Chap 29: Discovered

**Hey there readers! Sorry for any mistakes. There are some minor spoils in this chapter. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this fanfic.**

* * *

Chapter 29: Discovery

Cerulean blue eyes stared at the white haired man laying on the hospital bed in a coma. The Kyuubi vessel felt helpless; he couldn't do anything to stop his best friend from leaving the village, he couldn't protect his teammate from being captured, and now he couldn't help his sannin mentor. He didn't understand why his life had to be difficult, he wanted to be just like everyone else and live a normal life like any other ninja in the village, but the fact that he had a demon sealed within him made it challenging. It was almost impossible though, for the idea of a normal life could only be lived in a dream.

He had friends before he started the academy, but he didn't fit it well with them; it was what he felt in his heart. He was an orphan while they had a family to go back to at the end of the day. Naruto would always watch in sadness as his friends' parents picked them up, leaving him behind and alone. The blond never had a real family to relate to; all he could do was image the feelings when he was out with certain people that he considered as family. Naruto's best friend was Sasuke and that was because they understood each other's feelings. In a short time the bond they shared turned into that of siblings and remained so even when they stood on different sides. Besides being the one that kept him in check during certain difficult times, Sakura was like a little sister that would rant at him if he never listened or paid attention. They were what started the foundation of the family he always dreamed of having and wanting.

After spending several hours sitting and staring at his coma instated mentor, Naruto couldn't stand it anymore. He couldn't' just sit around feeling sorry for himself and mope over what he couldn't do. He stood from his seat; bowed to his mentor, and then jumped out the window to the familiar training ground where everything had began.

Where the stories of team seven started….

—xXx—

As the blond legendary sannin returned to her office, she focused her chakra to sense if anyone was following her; the documents and the journal she had hidden between the pages of the large medical text book were important and may be the key to saving her precious daughter and the shinobi. Now that she had found what she had been looking for, certain mysteries may finally be solved now. Assumptions may finally be clarified, but open more questions to be solved.

Tsunade returned to her office, shutting the door behind her, locking it. After dropping the large medical book on her desk, she closed all the blinds, turned on the lights, and took her seat behind the large desk. The blond open the large medical book and took the journal and documents out to begin her research. The legendary sannin first looked at the documents to see what they were off. To her surprise, she found two genuine birth certificates, one with Sakura's name on it, the other with Sasuke's name. The Hokage was confused; why was there another birth certificate for Sasuke when the one in his files was an original one? It was already obvious that the one in Sakura's file was a fake. A birth certificate was the only logical evidence of Sasuke's true age, especially after she had seen the picture of Sakura with the two Uchiha brothers.

Gathering all the papers and the journal once again, she hid them between the pages of the large medical book, taking it with her as she left the office to her room. Something had to be wrong, the birth documentation wasn't a copy, it would have been stated if it was; there had to be a difference between the two if one was hidden away. Entering her room, Tsunade tossed the large medical book onto her desk and went to the bookshelf to get the files she had hidden away. She only took out three specific files then went to continue her investigation. The sannin had thought about calling Kakashi in to help her, but she knew whatever he found out could be used against him, stating he had stolen information. The safest thing to do was to find all the information she could and telling Kakashi some of the things she had come across.

She took the two birth certificates belonging to Sasuke and began the comparison. Everything between the two credentials was exactly the same, all the way down to the signatures, but then she finally spotted the small difference. The years stated on the two documents were different from each other, but it was only a year different. It didn't make any sense; Sasuke entered and graduated the academy the same during years as his two teammates, and therefore he had to be the same age as them, but the photo Kakashi had shown her said otherwise. The female Hokage carefully examined the paper that was in the file where the date was written. She spotted a faded ink underneath the one number and realized it has been tampered with; it was possible that Uchiha Sasuke was in fact a year older than his teammates.

Putting it aside for further examination by Kakashi, Tsunade took the birth certificates of Sakura's and began to compare. The only difference between the forged and authentic on was the name of her birth parents. It was unquestionable that the one hidden with the journal was original, but she was bewildered why the forged one contained different names. The surnames weren't different, but it didn't explain why the given names for her parents were different on the two documents. She had never heard about Sakura being adopted before and yet she had never met the young woman's parents either.

Tsunade placed the papers aside and began to look through the other credentials. She found a small stack of papers referring to Sakura's childhood that was missing in her files. She skimmed thought the papers and a specific phrase jumped out at her; arranged marriage. Trouble by the words, the legendary sannin began to read the document.

_The Haruno clan suffered a terrible lost on the night the Kyuubi attacked the village. Most broken families in the clan deserted their life in Konoha and headed to the other counties to start a new life. Among those that did stay in the village were the head family and the two elders of the clan._

_Sakura, the only child and daughter of the head family, was about three years old at the time and was the last generation of the Haruno Clan. The two clan elders knew the clan was going to die out and believed Sakura needed to wed into a prodigious clan. They sent out letters to the head and elders of each clan dubbed worthy, but most ignored the idea. As soon as the letter was sent out, the elders of the Uchiha Clan requested to see the girl and questioned the Haruno elders. Not long after, it was agreed that Sakura would wed into the clan when she was of proper age. The arranged marriage was between Haruno Sakura and the clan's youngest son, Uchiha Sasuke who was a part of the head family. Though they were only a year apart in age, their first meeting was enough proof the two would get together well._

_The head Uchiha family welcomed Sakura into their home and treated her as a part of the family. About two and a half years after, things took and unpleasant turn. While Haruno Sakura was over at the head Uchiha house for the night, the head family and the elders of the Haruno clan were murdered. Those that had stayed behind before quickly fled the village in fear that they were going to be killed and changed their surname. An investigation led by Uchiha Fugaku, had the support of the Sandaime, suspected the village elders, but before anything could be proven, the investigation was suddenly called off by none other than the village council. The council proposed that Sakura's memories should be erased and replaced with false memories. She would live a different life and the arranged marriage would be called off._

_The Uchiha Clan absolutely disagreed, knowing the village elders were behind the council's decisions. The Sandaime did all he could to convince the council that the proposal wasn't necessary, but the Sandaime wasn't in favor. Soon after, Sakura's memories of her clan, parents, and the Uchiha Clan were erased. She was put under the care of two villages that changed their surnames to Haruno to have her believe those were her real parents. The only other person that also underwent having their memories erased was Uchiha Sasuke; his memories of Haruno Sakura were removed._

_Their memories of each other would never be unlocked unless someone entered their subconscious._

Tsunade couldn't believe what she had just read; Sakura had been living a lie most of her life. The young pink haired woman had a heart of an orphan. She placed the papers away in Sakura's file and skimmed the few lose papers left to see whose file they were suppose to go into. When she stumbled across the phrase mentioning memories being erased, she just had to find out who the paper was referring to.

_Though at a young age, Uchiha Sasuke was arranged by the clan elders to marry Haruno Sakura when she reached the proper age for marriage. The Uchiha elders wouldn't let any outsiders marry into the clan unless they were worthy and the being the last of her family generation, the Uchiha elders didn't turn down the offer placed by the Haruno clan._

_Once a year had gone by, the relation the two had gone by well and the Uchiha elders proposed to have Sakura marry into the clan at the age of either sixteen or seventeen. The elders of the other clan didn't disagree and things have gone well between the two families. After a series of dreadful events, the village elders and council had to force the cancelation of the arranged marriage and erase the memories he had of Haruno Sakura. Her own memories, including that of Sasuke were also erased._

_Whether or not his memories of the girl will be restored when he is older is unknown._

The Hokage sighed; she couldn't believe what she had just read. To think the elders were behind many of the problems. The Sandaime must have taken the reports and hidden them for a reason. It wasn't possible for the Sandaime to have known before hand about what would happen to the two ninjas. Even though the man did believe in monks' predictions, it wasn't possible for something so far down in the future to be foreseen.

Though the documents she had just read were legitimate, Tsunade was baffled. Her chocolate brown eyes landed on the journal that sat in front of her; the log was all she had left to find out more about the unexpected. She turned her gaze at the remaining papers in front of her and assumed that there had to be more answers written down on the loose papers. Realizing that the hand writing belong to her mentor the Sandaime, the Hokage believed she was on the right path on finding out the truth.

_When the Kyuubi first attacked the village of Konoha, three of the leaders, Koharu, Homura, and Danzou, suspected that an Uchiha was behind the incident. Whether or not it is true, there is no evidence to prove it. Recently before the attack had occurred, my advisors were dubbed the elders of Konoha. Due to their suspicion, they thought the Uchiha clan might be plotting a rebellion. The elders and Danzou had the clan closely guarded by the ANBU Black Ops when the clan was forced to live in a corner of the village. Soon after problems began to arise and the false assumptions became reality; the Uchiha clan was planning to take over the village. In order to gather information on what the elders and Danzou were doing, the Uchiha clan planted a spy, only to have it back fired._

_Ever since the elders began to step into the business of the Uchiha clan, hatred brewed between the elders and the clan. Uchiha Fugaku was the ringleader and placed his oldest son Itachi as the spy for the clan. Unfortunately for the clan, Uchiha Itachi turned on his family in order to save both sides from destruction. As the Sandaime, I had been working on a truce with the Uchiha and when it was close to being compliant on both sides, the elders took things into their own hands. Danzou handed Itachi a secret mission and that mission was to annihilate the entire Uchiha clan._

_When Itachi came to me informing that the mission had been completed, I was furious; I didn't expect the elders to use excessive measures. I was going to take matters into my own hand and get things cleared up, but Itachi pleaded with me to protect his younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke, from the elders and Danzou and to keep what had really happen a secret. I promised him, but told Itachi that when he died, the truth will be told to his younger brother for he had the right to know. I just hope when the time does come the elders will be stripped of their title. He didn't argue and agreed to my terms. Before Itachi left, there was one thing he said to me that I didn't quite understand; he told me to make sure Uchiha Sasuke remained a part of Konoha no matter what would happen._

Tsunade just stared at the papers in front of her, a sadden expression on her face. So many lies, so many secret, and they all connected together. What happened to Sasuke and Sakura when they were young were caused by the elders; the massacre of a great clan was caused by the elders, they marked Itachi a criminal just because of a mission they forced upon him. Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu assumed they were doing something good, but it only ended up fueling the hatred the Uchiha clan already had for the elders and Danzou. It extremely troubled her to know something this influential that could change Konoha or worse, throw the entire village into chaos. Now she was keeping a secret from the three young sannins when it was a burden just to keep the secret of Naruto's parents from him.

—xXx—

Naruto stood in front of the three stumps by the river, the very spot where things had begun, where the members of the original team seven first become known as team seven. The memories of when they were young came flooding into his mind. They were instructed by Kakashi not to eat breakfast and ended up with little energy. The first time they ever really bonded and became a family just because they screwed up the first time on Kakashi's test. Those cerulean blue eyes stared at the stump in the middle as memories flooded into his mind.

The blond walked over to the stump and couldn't help shake his hand. He saw his younger self tied to the stump as Sasuke and Sakura sat on the grass with a bento box Kakashi had prepared. A small smile formed on his lips; his two teammates offered some of the food in their bento box when they were ordered not to. That was the very first time he had bonded with them, it was when team seven became a family.

"Naruto-kun…" a lowly shy voice spoke.

The male turned his head to see the flushed faced Hyuuga heiress.

"Gomen Naruto-kun," the Hyuuga heiress said with a light blush on her cheeks as she fidgeted with her fingers. "I d-didn't mean to b-bother you."

"It's alright Hinata-chan," the Kyuubi vessel said turning his gaze back at what he had been staring at.

Her snow white orbs stared at the blond and noticed his troubled expression on his face. Ever since the three teams began their little investigation on team seven, the kunoichi couldn't help feel bad about what she was doing. She had a crush on the blond for so long, but never gathered the courage to confront the male about her feelings.

"Eh Naruto-kun," the young woman said, trying to hold back from mumbling too much like she usually would. "Is there something bothering you?"

"Iie," the male replied.

The young woman didn't believe him and wanted to help. "If there is something you want to talk about, I'm here to listen."

The sun was slowly beginning to set, making the sky a fiery orange. The blond didn't say anything and just stared up at the sky. A frown made its way across Hinata's lips; she felt sorrowful for not being able to help him and wanted to leave to blond alone. She was about to take a step, but Naruto began to speak.

"I wish they were back in Konoha…" he said in a low voice. "I want things to be how it was when we were genins."

"But it's not possible," the young woman said shyly, unsure of how the sannin would react.

"It's all because of that snake!" Naruto yelled out, startling the kunoichi. "If he hadn't taken Sasuke-teme in the first place and then kidnapped Sakura-chan, they would be here!" The blond clenched his fist tightly. "They're not criminals, they're ninjas of Konoha and I will do everything I can to save them."

"Gomen Naruto-kun," the kunoichi quickly said. "That's not what I meant. We've all grown up and matured, becoming better ninjas, therefore it's impossible for any of us to change back to the way we were in the p-past."

"Nothing is impossible! Rules are meant to be broken once and I will do so."

"We're s-suppose to follow the r-rules," the heiress muttered shyly, trying to argue the male's point. "No one can bend the rules."

"I will bend it! I will make sure nothing happens to them as long as I'm here!"

The lavender haired woman couldn't stand watching the young man in front of her suffer so much. As shy as she was, Hinata walked up behind Naruto and wrapped her arms around the male, hugging him from behind. She knew very well Naruto was hurting, not just mentally, but physically as well. His slightly trembling body stopped and relaxed; just being hugged by Hinata made him feel slightly better, but the pain deep within him was still there.

The Kyuubi vessel clenches his fist tightly, what Hinata said was right, that was exactly what they learned when they were in the academy; as a ninja of a village, one must follow all the rules or end facing the consequences. When he became a part of team seven, following the rules at all times wasn't the case anymore. The very words Kakashi said to them had sunk into his mind and he would never forget as long as he was a ninja; it was a part of his ninja way.

He unclenched his fist and relaxed himself. "A ninja must see underneath the underneath," Naruto whispered. "Those who break the rules and codes of the ninja world are trash, but people who don't take care of their comrades are worse than trash."

Hinata continued to hold the male in her arms; the last time she heard those words was when they were returning to Konoha on a fail mission; the mission meant to capture Sasuke and Sakura. She knew those words meant a lot to the blond; it's a part of Naruto's belief for living his life as a ninja. When she first heard it, she didn't understand why the sannin would say such a thing; the blond admitted he would break the rules to help two criminals, to help his two teammates, to help his family. Hearing it a second time, she finally understood what the words meant now, the true meaning of being a ninja. The lavender haired woman finally realized why she was fond of the blond; it was because of his everlasting determination in life.

Hinata released the blond and stood at his side. "I believe Sasuke-san and Sakura-san will return," the young woman said turning her gaze up to the sky. Her hands were behind her back, her facial expression showing confidence. "They will come back home. We just have to believe in them."

"Yah," the blond said.

—xXx—

The chocolate eyes of the Hokage were in a daze as she headed to the hospital. She took the elevator up to the top floor and saw Genma and Yamato playing a game of Shougi and Anko heading toward the elevator.

"Where is Kakashi?" the blond legendary sannin asked.

"He went to look for Naruto," Anko answered. "I need to head down to get the contraceptive shot."

"I'll give it to you," the Hokage said.

The purple haired special jounin entered the elevator and rode it down to the second floor. When the elevator doors opened, Anko followed the Hokage to an empty room to get the needed contraceptive shot. The sannin opened the small cabinet at the corner of the room and took out a clean sterilized syringe and a small bottle with clear liquid in it. All the kunoichis in the village had to get the shot and can refuse to get it whenever they wanted to if they had a reasonable reason. It was a yearly thing for all kunoichis, especially for those that went on missions that involved seducing the target.

"I've kept watched over the three teams," Anko said as she removed her left arm from the jacket sleeve. She took a seat on the bed and waited. "There isn't any new activity going on now."

Tsunade nodded as she stuck the needle in the bottle and drew out a certain amount of the liquid. After doing so, the woman placed the bottle back where it first was. The Hokage took out a sterile wipe and cleaned a certain spot on her upper arm before puncturing her sink with the needle to inject the liquid. When all the liquid in the syringe was gone the blond removed the needle and placed a cotton ball over the injection sight.

"Just apply some pressure onto it and it will soon stop blood from flowing out."

Anko took hold of the cotton ball and did as instructed. "I'll be heading out to check on the rookies to see what they're up to."

"If there's anything suspicious, inform me right away," Tsunade said after tossing the used needle and syringe into the disposable bind. "Beware of your surroundings; the elders may have placed Root members to tail you."

"Hai Tsunade-sama."

The purple haired jounin tossed the cotton ball into the trash, inserted her arm back into her jacket sleeve, bowed to the Hokage, and then left the room. Tsunade turned to wash her hands at the sink and spotted a chart with a list of names of kunoichis that needed to get the vaccination. Her chocolate brown orbs scanned the chart as she washed her hands. As she dried her hands, she spotted Sakura's name among those that needed the vaccination. She was supposed to get it when she returned back from the mission, but unfortunately Orochimaru had captured her.

After seeing the name of her apprentice there, Tsunade knew to expect a possible pregnant Sakura coming back; that is if they do return. Knowing Sasuke wanted to rebuild his clan and Sakura would want to have some happy memories, it was inevitable. The painful feeling of losing Sakura along with an unborn child would greatly affect Tsunade; it would be another heartrending event engraved in her heart. Tsunade walked out of the room and headed toward the elevator to return back up to check on Jiraiya. The Hokage's mind wondered to the pink haired kunoichi; she had a feeling the young woman was pregnant and feared for her future. She had watched Sakura grow from a genin with limited abilities into the strong woman she was now. Just thinking of Sakura's life coming to an early end really hurt Tsunade. After being around for so long, she saw things differently than before. When she reached the doors of her teammate's room, she entered quietly and sat in the empty chair Naruto was in earlier.

"You would never believe what the village had turned into after Minato's death…" Tsunade said to the coma instated man, holding onto his left hand. "We probably shouldn't have left Konoha like we did all those years ago." Tears began to gather in her eyes. "I left because of my past memories while you went to chase after Orochimaru; the three of us were complete idiots. Konoha wouldn't have been like this if it wasn't for our absent."

* * *

It was late in the evening and Sakura was already asleep in the arms of her lover, tired from their previous activities. Her steady heart beat assured Sasuke she was alright. The onyx orbs of the male stared at the beauty knowing that within her was a growing life he had helped create and always wanted. He ran his hand over her smooth flat belly, his mind completely unsure of what to do.

He didn't want to abandon his ravage for his own selfish desires nor did he want to risk the life of the person that meant everything to him. Leaving the cherry blossom was an option he had, but he knew the pink haired woman well enough to know that if he headed out on his own she would eventually chase after him. Sakura's stubbornness and love for him was what held her together. Taking her with him only increased the changes of her being a target and he wasn't going to lose the only person he cherished. Uchiha Sakura was the only woman he would ever love, even after death.

Sasuke held his sannin wife closer; his only option was to let faith take its course.

* * *

Hinata had left when the sun had almost completely set, leaving the young blond sannin alone on the training ground.

"What do you say to a meal at Ichiraku's? My treat," Kakashi said. The sliver haired man was leaning against the other side of the very log Naruto was leaning against. "We haven't been there for a while."

The blond stood up and faced his sensei with a grin on his face. "Three bowls each. Both of us will eat one for Sasuke and one for Sakura."

"Now, now Naruto," Kakashi said lowering the book he was reading. "You know I can't eat that much."

The grin on the still genin ranked ninja grew wider. "Then I will eat it!" the blond yelled out. The young man turned to head toward the ramen stand. "Come on Kakashi-sensei, I'm starving!"

The white haired man only sighed, but his visible eye show content. "It's good to see you back to normal Naruto," Kakashi said to himself as he walked.

—xXx—

Tsunade had spent the rest of the day telling the coma instated man what she had learned. It was difficult to keep those secrets all in and voicing it out to the white haired man made her feel better. It didn't matter to her that teammate couldn't hear her; voicing out her worries was good enough. She didn't have anyone else to turn to and venting her mixed emotions out all she needed. Memories when she first became a ninja in a team with Jiraiya flooded her mind; those good old days were all she had and would slowly diminish as time pass.

"Get back on your feet soon Jiraiya," she said before leaving the room.

* * *

Sasuke couldn't sleep one bit no matter now how long he laid in bed. He slowly slipped out of the bed, not waking the cherry blossom that was in deep slumber. The male sannin went into the bathroom, grabbed his boxers, and dressed in the clothes he had worn in the day. Sasuke covered the young woman with the large comforter and headed out the room. Sasuke entered the kitchen and began to make a simple meal. When he was done, the sannin was leaving the kitchen when a voice stopped him.

"When do you plan on leaving Sasuke?" the elder asked.

He gripped the tray in his hand tightly. He had originally planned for them to leave in four days, but now the sannin didn't know. If he was going off on his own, he would reached the supposed area and face Itachi. Now that he had learned of Sakura's pregnancy, he wasn't going to risk the life of their growing child and his wife.

"Tomorrow or the day after," Sasuke answered.

"I shall see you out personally then," the elder said.

"There is no need to," Sasuke said. "You've done more than enough for my family. I don't wish to burden you anymore."

The elder cat nodded, even though the male couldn't see. "Just know you and Sakura-san are always welcome back here if anything happens."

"Aa…"

Sasuke walked the halls back to the room and entered seeing the pink haired sitting up, rubbing her sleepy eyes. Emerald orbs turn toward him and the young woman blushed. Sakura took the thin covers and wrapped it around her figure, covering herself. The male sannin headed over to the bed and placed the tray of food on bed between the two of them. The kunoichi studied her raven haired husband carefully; she found it odd that his face was written with no emotion, but his eyes showed worry. He picked up one of the onigiri he had made and held it out to his wife. Sakura smiled sweetly at the man and took the food he had made.

"Ne Sasuke-kun," she said lowly.

"I'm going to leave tomorrow…" he said bluntly, his back turned to her. "You're going to stay behind."

Sakura placed the onigiri in her hand back down and got off the bed, wrapped in the bed sheet. She faced him with an angry face, disliking that he made a decision without her consult. He looked at her emotionlessly, confidence written all over him. She was a child being ordered around by man that didn't know enough about her; she was inferior because she was a woman.

"We're not going to stay behind and wait for you Sasuke!" she yelled out, speaking out not just for herself, but also for life that grew within her. "I don't want to be given bad news about you! I don't want to become a single mother and raise our child on my own! I want our baby to have a father to look up to!" The man didn't move or speak a word and continued to stare down at Sakura. Unable to contain her built up anger, the female sannin grabbed the front of Sasuke's haori. "Why won't you say anything? You have no right to make that decision! I'm capable of defending myself; I don't need you to protect me all the time!"

"This battle has nothing to do with you," Sasuke said, grabbed hold of her wrist. "You will be in my way and I can't have that. I've been waiting for the day I would kill Itachi to get the revenge I had chased after for years."

Sakura clenched his haori tighter. "Ever since you left the village, I've always waited. I waited for you to get your revenge and come back home to team seven, to me!" Tears were beginning to gather in the emerald orbs. "Do you know how much pain you caused me when you left that night?"

"You gave me no other choice Sakura."

"You ignored those choices!" she yelled at him. "You completely ignored all the given choices! I'm not giving you the opportunity to do it again! I don't want you to leave me! You said you wouldn't leave me!"

"You still don't understand," he said, his anger slowly beginning to rise. "After all this time you're still naive."

"Then why did you promise me?"

"Promises are meant to be broken eventually," he answered, annoyed.

"Did you forget who I am Sasuke-kun?" she asked, frustrated and sadden. "I'm not the weak twelve year old girl you left out cold on the bench that always needed to be protected! I am a kunoichi that knows how to fight; I am a medic that has saved lives! I'm not Haruno Sakura anymore, I'm Uchiha Sakura and that makes him my brother as well!"

"Just stay behind like I told you to," Sasuke snarled. He slightly narrowed orbs stared down at her.

"I won't do it! I'm not going to let you die out there!" Sakura screamed out. "What are you trying to prove?"

"I'm not strong enough!" he growled at her.

"And killing Itachi is going to make you stronger!" Sakura yelled out. "Is this what it about?"

"Iie!"

"Then what are you trying to say?"

He grabbed her shoulders tightly. "I can't lose you again!"

Those words shattered Sakura's anger, her face written with surprise. For those very words to be said out loud by Sasuke showed her what his feelings for her really were. The tears in her eyes fell on their own as Sakura stared into the onyx orbs in front of her. Sakura's hands released the haori and cupped his face. All his repressed emotions were slowly beginning to surface; he was gradually opening up to free his heavy heart.

"I rather go through the risk than to sit around waiting," Sakura said. Wrapping her arms around her husband, Sakura held onto Sasuke, never wanting to let go. "Being apart from you is more painful than any physical wound possible."

Sasuke slowly wrapped his arms around her frail form. He felt hurt; an argument between them tore them apart yet oddly brought them closer together. They are an unusual yet unique puzzle pieces that would only fit one another's.

"I will follow you wherever you go, giving you everything of mine" she whispered. "We will go through life together, step by step."

* * *

The night sky created a soothing environment for Tsunade as she started up at the mountain at the faces of the past Hokages. First her grandfather, her great uncle, her own sensei, and then Minato. The four great leaders were all known for something great, but her chocolate brown orbs were mainly focused on her own past mentor and the man that saved the village.

"Were the two of you working together to relieve Koharu, Homura, and Danzou?" Tsunade asked. A gentle wind blew pass her as if answering her question. "It seem you were unable to do so until now and I will make sure what you had set out to do is completed." Tears slowly gathered in her eyes. "I will protect them just like you would have done, Sarutobi-sensei, Minato."

Her face upon the cliff wasn't going to be a meaningless carving.

* * *

Onyx orbs slowly reveal themselves when Sasuke felt the woman in his arms stir. He felt the weight upon his chest shift before it was gone. Still wrapped in the bed sheets, Sakura sat up and stretched her stiffen muscles. A small smirk made its way across the male's lips as he watched his wife unwrap the sheet from her body. When her back was revealed, his right hand reached out and traced along her spine. She moved her shoulders slightly, giving him the sign to stop. Knowing she was going to ease her sore muscles with chakra, he sat up and pulled the woman into his chest. Sasuke entwined his fingers with hers and began to pump chakra into her hands. Sakura smiled as she led their chakra infused hand along her body, healing the discolorations on her skin and easing her muscles.

Sasuke rested his head on her shoulder, his eyes focused on her lower abdomen where another life was developing. He had doubts about his decision of letting Sakura go with him, but he couldn't deny her one bit. The raven haired man felt her change the chakra flow between their hands as she placed them over her lower abdomen. He felt a strange chakra within Sakura pass by their hand and held her closer to his body.

"Can you sense the presence there?"

"Aa…"

She moved their hands along her abdomen. "I think there might be more than one."

"Hn."

Sakura freed her hands from Sasuke and turned around to face him. He leaned back, supporting his weight on his arms. A smile came across her cherry lips as she leaned forward and kiss him passionately. Sasuke returned the kiss, his right hand cupping her cheek. He leaned back, making the woman crawl closer to the point she was right over his body. Their naked chest pressed against each others as Sasuke wrapped his free arm around her waist.

She broke the kiss and smiled at him. "Aishiteru Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke kissed her again on the lips then trailed along her jaw to her neck. He flipped them around as he continued his actions. Sakura let out a low moan, her hands placed on his chest, trying to push him away so that things wouldn't get too heated between them.

"We shouldn't Sasuke-kun…" she spoke out between her moans.

He stopped what he was doing and stared lovingly at Sakura. She smiled at him, pecked him on the cheek then got off the bed, heading into the bathroom. Sasuke sat up, grabbed his black haori from the ground and placed it on. He stood from the bed and went to the door to go to the kitchen to get breakfast and a supply of food that they would take with them.

As the warm water showered down on her body, Sakura kept a smile on her face. For the past few days, they lived a life like any other couple; arguing over things, making up, worrying about each other. Now the honeymoon was coming to an end and they were going to face the reality of being a ninja once again.

* * *

His hands unfolded a small piece of paper and poured the white powder into the mug of steaming hot water. Itachi's onyx orbs stared at the curtain covered window as his hand picked up the mug. The older Uchiha was going to make sure _he_ didn't go near either of the two. Itachi slowly sipped the hot bitter liquid then stopped when he felt the strong chakra presence he had kept alert of vanish.

He knew something wasn't right and quickly drowned the warm bitter liquid. He threw the Akatsuki coat over his clothed body and quickly left the room, covered by a jutsu. Time was quickly running out and this was going to be his only and final chance to finish his own mission.

* * *

The sun shined brightly into his room, the intense ray shined directly into his face until a figured covered the opening of the window. Annoyed that the sunlight was blocked, he opened his eyes and an indistinct figure met his waking eyes, too close to his liking. Naruto quickly shot out of the bed, falling onto the hard wood floor and pointed a finger at the man.

"Yo," the sliver haired man greeted.

"Don't ever do that again Kakashi-sensei!" the blond yelled out.

"Gomen, gomen Naruto," Kakashi said. "But it's about time for you to get up; Tsunade-sama has summoned you."

"Why this early in the morning?" Naruto placed his right hand under his chin. "Why-" The sliver haired shinobi was already gone. "Damn you Kakashi-sensei."

—xXx—

"Gomen Fukasaku-san," Tsunade said. "Naruto's late habits come from Kakashi."

The toad elder only croaked in laughter. "He doesn't just from Kakashi, but from little Jiraiya as well." Tsunade smiled; it was true that the young blond did take after his two mentors. "Bringing him to Myobokuzan to train will motivate him to strive higher."

Naruto suddenly burst through the office doors, huffing for air. "Why did you call me in for Tsunade-baa-chan?" the male said between breaths. "The old toad is here too."

"Be more respectful to your elders Naruto no baka," Tsunade said.

"Actually I requested your presence Naruto-kun," Fukasaku said. "How would you like to be trained the way little Jiraiya was?"

"But I thought the perverted sage taught me everything he knew," Naruto said.

The toad elder croaked. "There were a few things he wasn't able to teach you though Naruto-kun." The blond male just stared at the toad. "I will teach you the powerful sage technique that may come in handing during tough battles in the future."

A light bulb went off in the young shinobi's head. Naruto pumped his right arm into the air. "Then we're off to Myobokuzan!" he yelled then walked out the door. A second later he popped his head through the doors with a sheepish grin of embarrassment. "When is Myobokuzan at anyways?"

* * *

Everything was packed away; clothes, pills, ointments, antidotes, weapons, and food. Both had showered and were eating a few of the onigiri Sasuke had made. He was already fully clothed in dark clothing, wearing his black sleeveless haori, dark pants with the cloth around his waist held together by his navy blue stash, and his high ninja sandals. The tattoos on his forearms were covered with bandages, but would be easily removed if he needed. Sakura was dressed in her regular attire, but instead of the red shirt she normally wore, it was Sasuke's white haori. She was given his forearm protectors to wear as well and she didn't argue with him, knowing his intentions were good.

When Sasuke was done with his last piece of onigiri, he stood and grabbed the two large cloaks. He secured one over his shoulders and brought the other one to Sakura, putting it on for her as well. Sakura said nothing and just smiled at him; she was worried and terrified, but she wouldn't show it.

"We will leave soon," Sasuke said before he turned his back toward her. "We will travel mostly in the dark."

Sakura knew he was avoiding eye contact with her because he felt guilty. She stood and wrapped her arms around his from behind.

"Arigatou Sasuke-kun," she whispered. "Every moment with you was my happiness."

A knock on the door make the pink haired kunoichi free her hold on her husband. She went to the door and opened it. Sasuke just shifted his eyes over to try to figure out who was at the door and what Sakura was saying to the person at the door. He heard her thank the guest and take something before closing the door.

In her hands were three swords, two of which were identical. One of the blades looked very similar to that of Kusanagi, down to the very detail of the hilt and sheath. Instead of the white and blue patters on the sheath and hilt, it was a blacks and red design. The two identical ones had a dark scarlet sheath and hilt. They were shorter in length and light weight, but blade was made by a well experience blacksmith.

"The cat elder gave them to us," Sakura said, looking up at Sasuke. "It's a farewell gift from her."

Sasuke took the three blades in one hand from his wife and used his other hand to draw her into his waiting body, embracing her. "I have too much to regret," he whispered into her ear. "Yet everything I could ever cherish is all right here." Sakura sniffed; the cold hearted man on the outside was only breaking open for her for just a small moment. "I will always treasure our every memory."

Gray clouds floated above, the sun hidden within the eerie sky. A strong yet cold wind blew, making the leaves rustle loudly and loosen ones fly with the breeze.

The two sannins stood at the entrance of the abandoned area. Sakura started back at the place; it held some of their precious memories. Sasuke shifted his eyes toward his wife for a second before focusing up ahead; it was difficult to never look back. He removed part of the bandages on his left forearm, revealing the snake tattoo. After smearing a bit of blood on the tattoo on his arm, he made several hand seals then slam his palm onto the ground.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu," he said.

A large puff of smoke appeared beneath the two sannins and they rose up. They stood on the head of a midnight blue snake.

"Sakura," he called out softly.

She turned to look at Sasuke and nodded slightly, informing him that they can leave now.

* * *

Naruto stared up at the stars above as he lay on the back of the now large Gamakichi. He had just taken a long hot shower and was only dressed in his pants, taking advantage of the nice warm weather. Even though it was his first day training, he had learned much, mastering things quickly.

"Oy Naruto," the large young toad said. "Are you planning to use your clones again for training tomorrow?"

"It's the only way for me to master the sage technique fast enough," Naruto said.

"Fukasaku-san hates it you know," the toad said. "I had to help because you made too many clones. I'm tired from jumping around and knocking your clones before they turned into a toad."

The blond laughed. "If it weren't for all the clones, I wouldn't have gotten as far as I have," he said. "I just want to finish this training as soon as possible, get back to Konoha, and start searching for Sasuke-teme and Sakura-chan."

"Have fun with that," Gamakichi said.

"It's not an easy task so you're going to help me Gamakichi," Naruto said.

"NANI?"

* * *

Against the dark skies not one star shined brightly; the moon light barely visible behind the dark thick clouds. Water drizzled down from the sky above, giving the land below a colder air to breath. Within the dark trees, a large snake slithered through the thick forest; its golden orbs glowed in the complete darkness.

"Where exactly is our destination Sasuke-san," the snake asked its master.

The questioned person held the flower in his arms closer. "The borders of the Waterfall Village," Sasuke answered.

Sakura was fast asleep, her head resting on Sasuke's chest. The hood of their cloaks was up, keeping them warm. She sat between his legs, her hands resting on the black blade given to them by the cat elder. The other two swords that were given to them were placed away in Sasuke's traveling pack.

Time passed slowly and it was difficult for him to fall sleep. The dense forest was never safe to be in when it was dark for what lurked behind every hiding spot was unknown. Sasuke didn't want to take any risks, especially when he had seen the papers of their bounties. He knew very well that Sakura had hidden them from him, afraid that it would make him do something foolish. With his wife pregnant, it made him worry more about her; the idea of losing his own unborn flesh and blood along with Sakura sadden yet anger him.

"The travel will be long Sasuke-san," Riku said. "Sleep if you must."

"Hn."

Sasuke summoned Riku because he was the most reliable when it came to long distance traveling in the dark and was more aware of any possible dangers than any of the other snakes he could summon. Though Mandan was next in line to take the position of head snake summoning after his father Manda, Sasuke refuse to dub the title upon Mandan. The male sannin would rarely summon either of the two unless the situation called for them. Riku was his first summoning when he started and ever since then he was the most reliable and loyal toward Sasuke.

His tired eyes were half lidded, but he fought against the need for sleep. Sakura began to stir and snuggled closer to her lover. Her emerald orbs opened and looked up at the outline of the tired man. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Sakura saw the dark bangs forming under those onyx orbs. She knew he hadn't sleep and it was going to affect him greatly when he went against Itachi; it would give the older Uchiha the upper hand of causing more injuries.

"You need to sleep Sasuke-kun," she said. "Resting will help you conserve energy."

"Daijoubu," he said. "I have to stay awake. Itachi could strike when we least expect."

She stared worryingly at him. "Onegai," Sakura pleaded. "Get some rest; I'll take the night watch for a while." Sasuke shook his head, refusing her request. "I'll be fine Sasuke-kun. I have Riku up and if we sense anything, I will wake you up right away."

Knowing there was no use arguing against her, Sasuke gave into her demand. Sakura changed her sitting position and motioned for her husband to lie his head down on her lap. He moved his position and laid his head down on Sakura's lap; he knew she wanted him to rest comfortably so when he awoken he wouldn't have too many stiff or sore muscles. Soon after the young Uchiha male was fast asleep, his face written with calmness, no other emotion presence upon his face.

"If you need to stop and rest Riku, just say so," Sakura said to the large snake. "Don't tire yourself out."

"There is no need," the large midnight blue snake said. "I've been resting much for his travel."

'_He planned ahead…'_

'_**Well, he has been waiting years to get his revenge. What would you expect from a determined man like him?'**_

Sakura didn't say a word to reply back to her inner; her determined husband was going to close the book on the great Uchiha clan and let it start anew with her at his side. Whether the story of the great clan would begin a new was unknown and it scared her.

"I yearn for your well being at the end Sasuke-kun, more than anything."

* * *

Thick dark clouds loomed over the village of Konoha and rain poured heavily down upon the quiet village. The wind howled as it blew violently, blowing anything caught in the gust. Small trees were ripped off the ground, flowers were tossed around, and soaked debris were on the streets. The roads were almost empty, except for the few citizens that struggle to get through the streets and the ninjas that took the weather opportunity as a training exercise. The academy was close with the young genins to be at home with their families.

Tsunade stood out on the roof top of the large red mansion with a thick large white cloak covering her body to keep her dry and warm. The weather was the perfect display for her feelings and mind; everything was filled with uncertainty. She couldn't help feel the gloomy weather was trying to tell her something; to warn her about the ominous future up ahead. A storm always occurred before or during the time something horrible happened to someone close to her; it was the same for her past as well. Both her little brother and the man she first loved died during a stormy night. Long before Jiraiya and Naruto seek her out, she lived through a two day storm in an inn with Shizune; it was also the day before her mentor, the Sandaime, had died saving the village from destruction. On the day Jiraiya was brought back injured, there was a storm in the morning. The downpour she stood in now was no different from any of the others; it was a definite sign something unpredictable was going to happen to something to someone close to her. Deep down she knew that someone was possibly going to be Sakura.

* * *

The sun was rising in the distance, but was hidden behind the morning mist. The air was moist and bitter, but Riku continued to slither through the forest. Sakura's eye lids were half lidded, tired from the lack of sleep. She knew very well rest was important for a pregnant woman, but Sasuke needed to rest more than her.

"There is a river bank up head Sakura-san," the snake said.

"We'll stop there to rest a moment," Sakura reply, yawning.

Not too long after, the large snake slithered into a small clearing with fresh water; the some of the ripples in the water were reflecting off the bits of sun light, giving the liquid a majestic appeal. The roaring sound of the nearby waterfall echoed lightly into the distance. Animals that were hydrating themselves left the clearing back into the forest to hide from the large reptile.

Seeing that her husband was still asleep, Sakura removed her pack and slowly lifted Sasuke's head off her lap. She placed his head on her pack then got off Riku's head. Removing the hood, her weary emerald orbs stared at their surroundings. Noticing the area didn't fit for any ambush, her worries lessoned. She kneed by the bank and gathered some water into her hand and splashed her face. The cool water awoken her weary senses, pushing away the need for rest her body and mind were demanding.

"Are you feeling tired at all Riku?" Sakura asked turning to the snake. "We can rest here for a short while if it is needed."

The large midnight blue reptile swallowed the liquid in his mouth and shook his head slightly to answer the kunoichi's question. "Sasuke-san didn't want to stop too much unless it was absolutely necessary."

The pink haired kunoichi walked up to Riku's head and placed her hand over the tip of his mouth. "We're counting on you too much for something this trivial."

The reptile hissed lowly, feeling pampered by the way he was treated not just by Sasuke, but by Sakura as well.

The sound of the slashing water slowly woke him. Sasuke slowly opened his eyes lids, slowly letting his eyes adjust to the light. He sat up stretching his muscles, removing the stiffness in his back. He spotted Sakura and noticed the dark bags under her eyes. He felt guilty for having her stay up to let him sleep, causing her to risking her health and the developing child within her as well. Neither of the two noticed he was awake so he watched them from afar.

"Maybe in the years to come, you'll have someone new to summon you Riku," Sakura said to the snake.

"As long as Sasuke-san approves," Riku hissed. "I won't let just anybody summon me."

A small giggle escaped as she touched her currently flat belly. "Sasuke-kun will defiantly approve," she reply smiling.

Sasuke stared down at his wife, she knew the possibilities of their future, yet she kept a positive attitude about things. The guilt within him grew every second; he was the cause of her suffering, of their misfortunes, but Sakura never blamed him for anything. Deep down inside she may blame him, but would never express it out to him; it wasn't in her personality to do so, especially because of the love Sakura held for him.

"Ohayo Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke jumped off from the snake's head and landed behind his pink haired wife. Sakura turned around to face him and smiled. She removed the hood covering his face and stood on her toes, placing a chaste kiss on his lips.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked.

Sakura received a nod from him. "We should be leaving," Sasuke said monotony. "The borders of the water country aren't far from here." The kunoichi nodded and turned around to climb up on Riku's head, but she was stopped. "We'll traveled by foot for a while. Riku can go off for to find something to eat."

After getting their packs, Riku went off in search of a meal. Sakura reached into her back and pulled out a bento box. She opened it and took out two large onigiri, handing one to Sasuke. She took her time eating while Sasuke finished within a few large bites. The Uchiha matriarch knew very well her husband was eager; the sooner it was over, the better for Sasuke and maybe for her as well.

Sakura stared at her half eaten onigiri; she didn't really feel hungry, but tired. She covered her mouth and yawned quietly; carrying a developing live meant she was doing everything for two. From the corner of his eyes, Sasuke noticed her weariness. Knowing she couldn't finish it, he took the half eaten onigiri from her and ate it then kneed down in front of her, his back facing her. She stared at him, bewildered by what he was doing.

"You didn't get the chance to rest," he said, signaling her to climb onto his back.

The kunoichi wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and placed her legs on either side of his waist. She rested her head on his left shoulder as he lifted her up and grabs their packs before moving on.

"We're a burden to you Sasuke-kun," she whispered as her tired eyes slowly began to close. "Maybe I should have stayed behind like you wanted."

The dark haired shinobi walked in silence and finally spoke when the young woman was asleep. "I rather have you here with me than anywhere else."

* * *

Trees were knocked over, boulders were in pieces, and the earth had cracks. The spiky haired blond lay sprawled in the dirt ground, trying to catch his breath. Sweat dripped from his body as the hot sun continued to shine over his drained body. Though tired as he was, a grim remained on his determined face.

"Well it seems you have completed all that I can teach you Naruto," Fukasaku said as he landed beside the blond shinobi. "You know how to gather and control natural energy well. Combine with the basic fighting skills I thought you, there shouldn't be any problems for you."

"Later, can we practice a bit more?" Naruto asked. "I want to prefect my techniques. That reminds me, I beat that perverted sage at mastering the technique!" the Kyuubi vessel yelled out loud up to the sky.

"That's because you cheated Naruto," Gamakichi said. "Jiraiya never used any clones to help him."

"Clones or no clones, I win the record of mastering the technique faster than him!"

Fukasaku just smiled; it reminded him of the old days when he was teaching Jiraiya and the white haired man would argue with Gamabunta. Time really did fly when one looked back at the past.

"What do you say about returning back to Konoha tomorrow?" the toad elder asked. Naruto sat up in disbelief. "I know you're eager to return back."

Naruto bobbed his head up and down. "I want to show Kakashi-sensei my new skills!"

The toad elder croaked. "We'll leave tomorrow right after a long good breakfast in celebration for your success!"

The Kyuubi vessel completely lost his appetite at the thought of what breakfast would be.

* * *

Taking a quiet walk through the forest with a sleeping Sakura on his back was somewhat relaxing for Sasuke. The surroundings of the woods brought his mind to peace, making him believe they were someplace else. As he walked, he heard Sakura mumble some things in her sleep and couldn't help look back at her sadly.

"Which do you think it is Sasuke-kun, a boy or a girl?" she mumbled. "What would you name our child?"

Sasuke's sadden eyes started straight ahead; after spending a short time with Sakura made him regret his choices and actions. Everything he did somehow got her involved, drawing her into the deep hole he had dug. Turning back wasn't going to solve anything; it could only cause more problems or worsen the situations. The only option he had was to move on forward in hope things were going to turn out for the better.

After walking for almost two hours, Riku came around and once again became the ninjas' transportation. Sakura was sound asleep still, her body leaning against her husband's. They were traveling along the borders of the Fire country; close to the borders of the other opposite nation, but away from large civilizations. They couldn't risk being noticed by anyone; it would only end up delaying their traveling and chase for Itachi.

Sasuke had his head against hers, his onyx orbs covered by his eyelids. His mind etched every image he had of her; Uchiha Sakura was his motivation to win and the life growing within her gave him a purpose to keep on living. The fact that there was a chance he may become handicap after the battle against Itachi didn't bother him; as long as he was alive with a family was all that mattered to him.

The woman in his arms stirred and snuggles closer to the warm his body gave off. Sakura opened his eyes and yawned; she was still tired, but her body wouldn't allow her to sleep too much. She turned her head toward his and saw he was in a trance. About to speak, his eyes suddenly opened with the crimson orbs of the Sharingan spinning slowly.

"He's close by," Sasuke said, gritting his teeth.

Sakura felt a strong chakra not too far away from them and she was familiar with it. The raven haired man freed his grasp around his blossom and stood up. Sasuke jumped off Riku's head and onto a large branch ahead. He began to jump from branch to branch, moving on head to see if the chakra presence he felt was that of Itachi's.

Riku stopped in his tracks several yards from where Sasuke had stopped, hiding behind the thickness of the trees. Neither of the two chakras moved and she was beginning to get nervous. Sakura didn't want to wait behind, knowing very well that was what Sasuke wanted. She knew that appearing the middle of their battle would cause problems: either Sasuke could end up getting hurt or worse, herself and the baby, but she wasn't going to let that stop her. She slid off Riku's head and the snake was about to protest for he was instructed to protect her.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure to come back very soon," she whispered.

She quietly yet slowly stepped through the dense forest to see what was going on.

—xXx—

Sasuke forced chakra into his feet, propelling himself faster through the woods. He could recognize that chakra presence no matter how well it was hidden; it had been imbedded into his mind ever since that night of the massacre.

A clearing was ahead and he spotted the design of the red clouds on the Akatsuki cloak. Clenching his left fist tightly, he jumped off the branch and soared out into the clearing.

"ITACHI!"

The blue lighting of Chidori Nagashi surrounded his body, his fist aimed at the Uchiha before him. The older brother stood his ground, extended his right arm out, and grabbed Sasuke's fist. Instead of being electrocuted by the blue lightning, it began to surround his body as well.

"I didn't expect to come across you this early otouto," Itachi said.

Grabbing the collar of the cloak he wore, Itachi flung his brother across the clearing. Sasuke turned his body around and gathered chakra into his feet. He landed on trunk of the tree then suddenly pushed himself off. Extending his left hand out, a chakra blade shot out and pierced the body of Itachi. Landing on his feet, Sasuke forced the blade forward, pushing Itachi back against a tree.

"You've gotten taller otouto," Itachi said as blood seeped through the corners of his mouth. "But you haven't changed too much though Sasuke."

"It's not like you changed," Sasuke said bitterly.

"You still charge straight at me," the older Uchiha said. "You never learn from your past experiences Sasuke, unless you are told to do so."

Sasuke calmed himself. "You know nothing about me…" He sent a short current of electricity down the blade, making Itachi cringe. "You don't know how much hate had filled and enveloped my heart. You don't know how it made me grow stronger and yet weaken me."

Taking one last look at his brother, Sasuke opened his fist and the chakra blade divided up and shot out of Itachi's body. Blood poured out of the wounds as the blades disappeared into thin air. The wounded body of the older Uchiha slumped to the ground, leaving a trail of blood on the dark. Sasuke walked over to his brother's body and stared down at him.

"You have gotten stronger otouto…"

Before Sasuke got the change to react, Itachi's body disconnect into many crows. Looking closely at the birds' eyes, Sasuke noticed they were the Sharingan orbs. Not too far from him the birds gathered together and the figure of the older Uchiha formed. Sasuke took a fighting stands and placed his right hand over the hilt of his blade.

"After all this time, you are still predicable," Itachi said as a sword slide out of his right sleeve and into his waiting hand. "You're not the only target otouto."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the man in front of him until he realized whom Itachi was referring to. There was a bunch of rustling behind the thick trees where the older Uchiha stood. Turning his back toward his younger brother, Itachi held the sword ready for an attack. The moment Sakura emerged into the clearing, Itachi moved in for his attack. When she saw the older male advance straight toward her with a sword in hand, Sakura froze in place, fear written all over her body.

'_**Hurry out of the way!'**_

'_I can't move my body!"_

_Time seemed to slow down in their eyes._

'_Itachi was stalling all this time!'_

Quickly pouring chakra into his legs, Sasuke dashed toward his wife. Afraid he may be too late, Sasuke poured more chakra into her feet, knowing very well he was going to use up more chakra by doing so. His best chances were to either take the attack or to block it. Sasuke appeared in front of Sakura in time, with Kusanagi drawn out in front of him, blocking Itachi's blade. Both Uchiha brothers forced their blades forward, trying to compel the other to submit.

"Chidori," Sasuke gritted out as his left infused chakra hand reached out, trying to stab Itachi through the chest.

Unwilling to take any chances, Itachi jumped backward, away from the close range attack. The Akatsuki member stood up straight and started at the angry Sasuke. "Just as I expected from you otouto," he said putting his hand down. "You haven't just grown weak because of her, but stronger as well. You seemed to have gotten smarter on our attacks too." Itachi turned his gaze at Sakura and with his Sharingan orbs; he saw the other chakra within her. "I see you've already begun rebuilding our clan."

Snapping back into reality, Sakura placed her hand over her flat belly; she was going to make sure nothing happened to the baby or her. Sasuke stood in front of his wife, shielding her from the eyes of Itachi.

"You were no longer apart of the Uchiha clan ever since you killed everyone!" Sasuke lashed out.

With his free hand, Sasuke made several hand signs and a clone appeared, dashing toward Itachi. The moment the clone was in close range, Itachi swung his sword upward, annihilating the replica. Using the puff of smoke to his advantage, Sasuke rushed forward and plunge his sword through the smoke. Before the blade could pierce Itachi, the older male lifted the left side of his cloak and crows flew out. Unable to see his brother in the cover of the crows, Sasuke retraced his steps and stood by Sakura to protect her.

Using his Sharingan eyes, Sasuke saw his brother's body morph and separate into dozens of black crows, each with the crimson orbs of Uchiha bloodline. He was going to wait for the moment Itachi appeared to attack him.

"Return back to Konoha," Itachi's voice said. "We'll end this where it all started."

* * *

Special appreciation to my great fanfic buddy: animequeen100.

**Hello again readers. Thank you to all of those that reviewed. It's another late update, but with a long chapter. Because I am in college, I have don't have as much time as I desire for writing my fanfic due to my major, but I will defiantly continue my fanfic work.**

**Hope the story about Sasuke's and Sakura's past makes perfect sense and fits for the ficcy. If there are any questions, please do ask away and I shall get back to you as soon as possible. More will be revealed very soon in the later chapters. The big battle between Itachi and Sasuke is going to be in the next chapter!**

**Please review! It is greatly appreciated!**


	30. Chap 30: Ending Where It Began

**Hey there readers, sorry for the long wait! There are some spoils in this chapter, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! SPECIAL EXTRA AT THE VERY END! ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this fanfic.

* * *

**Chapter 30: Ending Where It Began

Sasuke's Sharingan orbs watched all the black crows fly up into the sky and in the direction of Konoha. He tried to find Itachi's chakra believing the man was going to reappear again, but he couldn't sense the man's presence anywhere. He kept chanting in his mind the man was hiding somewhere even though he knew Itachi was gone and on his way to the Hidden Leaf village.

"I let him get away again!"

Sakura's sadden orbs stared at her husband's backside; she felt at fault for delaying the battle Sasuke had trained so long for. It was best she didn't let her worries get the best of her and trust Sasuke's abilities. Her doubt and worries would become Sasuke's downfall and possibly lead to his death.

"Sasuke-kun," she called out in a low voice. "We should be going."

"Why did you have to interfere?" he questioned her dangerously. "I could have killed him right here!" Sakura opened her mouth to speak, but not a word came out. "Now he's forcing me to go to Konoha when we're wanted criminals!" Sasuke turned around to face her, anger flooding his entire body. "We all have bounties on our heads and won't be taken lightly by any ninjas the moment we step foot in the village!"

Sakura bit her lower lips; she thought she had hidden their bounties away from him. Now that he knew of them, the cherry blossom didn't know what to do.

"I didn't mean for this to happen," she whispered. "I was just worried and scared for you." Her hand clenched the inside of her cloak tightly. "I thought you were hurt and needed to be healed."

Sasuke clenched his hands tightly, holding back all his anger and frustration. His knuckles turned pale, his dull finger nails dug into his skin. Her intentions for appearing were reasonable, but dangerous for her to do so. Unable to contain his emotions any longer, Sasuke yelled and sent his right fist straight into the closest tree. Sakura was started by his actions and watched as he pulled his arm back blood began to seep through the wounds created by the tree trunk. Sakura took a step to approach him to check his wound but the next thing Sasuke did completely surprised her. He drove his forehead into the tree forcefully.

"Sasuke-kun!"

The male loathed his weakness and forced himself to be punished. He slowly moved back as blood began to run down his face. Sakura quickly rushed over and placed her hand over the wound on his forehead to keep it from bleeding out too much. She forced chakra into her waiting hand to heal and disinfect the wound. Sasuke still remained standing with his gaze staring down at her. Her other hand reached into one of her pouches and took out a roll of bandages. Not wanting his wound to get infected, Sakura tried to wrap the wound with only one hand and had a hard time doing so until Sasuke helped her. After bandaging his head wound, Sakura slowly took his injured hand into both of hers. She examined his hand without turning her gaze toward his face to see how he was. With only a small amount of chakra gathered into bother her hands, she healed Sasuke's hand. Sasuke stared at her with emotionless orbs as she did her job, not knowing what to say to her.

"Gomen, I didn't mean to interfere in anyway," she whispered lowly as she dressed the wound. "Onegai Sasuke-kun, don't hurt yourself like this again."

Riku appeared into the clearing and lowered his head down for the two ninjas to get on. Sakura released his hand and turned around to jump onto the reptile's head. Sasuke was still unable to accept what had happened. He almost had Itachi in his grasp, but the man was always a step ahead of him.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura called out to him.

Knowing they had to start heading toward Konoha, Sasuke wasted no time and jumped on to Riku.

"Where to now Sasuke-san," the large snake asked.

"Home," he answered.

* * *

The raven hared man walked through the quiet forest in the land of Fire. His crimson orbs saw the large snake from above and knew very well it was helping them travel. Because their arrival in Konoha wouldn't be delayed, he wouldn't be able to approach the three that caused him to slowly decay and his younger brother to suffer all these years. His plans were now in disarray and he still didn't know where the other was lurking at.

Crimson orbs looked up at the sky, it was almost noon and at his speed he would reach Konoha by noon tomorrow; that was if he didn't stop to rest. His only choice was to push his body beyond its limit and risk everything. Itachi didn't have any other choice, if he couldn't get to any of them before his fall, Sasuke would have to become his puppet. He hated the idea of using his brother as his tool, but Itachi didn't have any other choice.

He was going to give them the life that was stolen from them long ago.

* * *

They traveled in silence, neither speaking a word to one another. Sakura would glance over at Sasuke to check on his trouble state, worried about what rash actions he may end up doing next. Though she had washed away Sasuke's blood from her hands, Sakura couldn't get the image of it out of her head; the images flooding her mind scared her. Time passed quickly and before they knew it, the sky was beginning to darken.

After eating some food herself, Sakura took one last glance at Sasuke before lying down with her head probed up by her pack. She held the large warm cloak close to her body and stared at his backside as her eye lids slowly began to close. Hidden within her cloak was the dark hilted blade.

"Get some rest Sasuke-kun," she whispered.

Sasuke turned his gaze back at his wife momentarily before looking straight ahead once again. He didn't want to rest just yet, but his body was demanding that he do so.

"Riku," Sasuke called out. "If you sense anything unusual, wake me at once."

"Understood Sasuke-san," the reptile said.

Sasuke placed his pack next to Sakura's and lay down to rest. His onyx orbs stared at his wife's angelic face and felt a slight sting in his chest. His hand reached out to stroke her cheek, but he stopped himself from touching her. She was his lucky charm and he didn't deserved to have her; he wasn't suppose to find happiness in his life after the murder of his entire clan, but it all came to him through Sakura.

He turned his position to stare up at the night sky. "I will fight to the every end and win this battle."

* * *

Itachi continued to jump from one tree branch to another. Konoha wasn't far, but he was running low on chakra and he had pushed his body over its physical limit. Though his face held no expression, he was in terrible pain. He reached into his pouch and pulled out a small black pill. Taking a quick sip of water from his canteen, the older Uchiha popped the capsule into his mouth and continued on.

He kept his charka level up by consuming one of the black pulls when he was low. Physical energy could only be gained by rested, but he didn't have the leisure to do so; Itachi had planned and informed Sasuke that their battle would be in Konoha and he wasn't going to change it. There was only one way for him to regenerate physical energy without resting and that was to drain it from others using a forbidden jutsu.

Continuing on his journey, Itachi sensed the chakra of two traveling ninjas. Without giving it a second thought, Itachi headed for the traveling ninjas. As he was approaching the shinobis, Itachi masked his chakra and preformed the proper hand seals for the jutsu; his hands began to glow a blue. Itachi jumped out of the shadows and grabbed onto the heads of the two shinobis.

An ear pitching cry of pain echoed through the forest. The older Uchiha drained the men of their energy until both were unconscious. After freeing them from this grasp, Itachi continued on toward Konoha.

* * *

A strong beam of sunlight hit his eyes and made Sasuke awaken. He looked at the surrounding forest and recognized the familiar route that lead to Konoha. Sasuke's tried orbs looked straight ahead as he attempted to find Itachi's chakra, hoping the man wasn't too far up ahead. Unable to find it, Sasuke sighed in frustration. His ray of vision was suddenly blocked when a hand held an onigiri in front of him. He took a glance up at the young woman before taking the food and began to eat in silence.

"We're close to home," Sakura whispered as she sat next to Sasuke. Her emerald orbs shifted over to look at him. "Do you think he intends to really finish the battle in Konoha?"

Sasuke swallowed the content in his mouth. "Hn," he replied.

Her emerald orbs saddened. "Where did it all start at?" Sakura mumbled.

"The Uchiha compound," Sasuke said. "That was where everything started. If he does wish to fight there, I want you to place _that_ barrier jutsu up." Sakura stared wide eyed at her husband. "I'm not going to let him escape this time."

"I can't do it Sasuke-kun. The chakra barrier –"

"I don't want to hear of it Sakura," he said bitterly. "This is going to be the only way for us to finish the battle to the very end." Quickly finishing his breakfast, Sasuke reached over for his pack. He took out two scrolls and handed it to Sakura. "One is for the barrier and the other is for the snake summoning."

Sakura hesitantly took the scrolls, unsure about doing what Sasuke had requested. It was too dangerous, but there wasn't any other option he was willing to take. Sakura ate in silence as her sadden eyes stared at her husband. There was too much at risk because of this one battle that started long ago.

Sasuke stood up and grabbed his katana, placing it between the dark colored stash around his waist. His onyx orbs kept staring straight ahead, focused on what laid ahead. Though he was unable to sense his brother's chakra, he knew Itachi was close. A shinobi like Itachi who was capable of becoming a part of the ANBU team at a young age would have many ploys to use to deceive any threats after him. His onyx orbs changed to the crimson orbs of his clan's bloodline ability.

"I'm going after him."

Those were the only words he said to the cherry blossom before vanishing. Knowing she couldn't let her worries cloud her judgment of the possible outcome of the battle between the Uchiha brothers, Sakura did her best to think of something content. Because the only things that could bring her true happiness related to Sasuke, the worse possible scenarios invaded her mind. She ended up envisioning his blood all over her as she tried to heal him. Tears gathered in her eyes; every joyful thought she had turned out for the worse and it was painful. She wiped away her tears; no matter what happened to Sasuke, she had to remain strong. The growing lives the two of them had created depended on her and she wasn't going to let their unborn babies die.

"Riku," the kunoichi said. "We're going to take a different route."

"Isn't our destination Konoha?"

"It is, but we can't just storm through the village gates," Sakura said. "You would be too noticeable and the ninjas would attack us right away. We'll catch up with Sasuke-kun at the entrance."

The large midnight blue snake changed its course as directed. Sakura hoped she would get the chance to see Sasuke once more before she had to put up the chakra barrier.

* * *

The pain in his body was slowly growing and becoming unbearable, but he couldn't stop. Reaching into his pouch, Itachi took out a folded piece of paper. Stopping for a moment, he swallowed the powder then took a gulp of water to wash everything down. Unwilling to waste time, the older Uchiha dropped the paper and continued on. Not long after his short stop, the gate of Konoha was visible. Closing his eyes for a moment, Itachi focused his mind on his surroundings. He felt the rapid approaching chakra and knew right away that Sasuke was coming. He knew the moment they pass the gate, the ninjas of the village would begin their attack upon them. He could let anyone step in to interrupt or intrude on their battle. Itachi's final battle was between Sasuke only and if anyone unwanted stepped in, death would be their consequence. Itachi made the choice to have his final battle against his little brother in Konoha because he wanted the ending chapter of his life to end where it all began.

Opening his eyes to reveal his morphed crimson orbs, Itachi ignited the large gate in black flames. He focused his eye and chakra on the sky above the village and created a strong genjutsu of the Akatsuki members standing in midair. The sound of bombs went off one by one, buildings beginning to crumble. Immediately he heard the sirens go off for the village citizens to evacuate into the caves of the mountain for safety.

"Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

Itachi quickly evaded the incoming fire attack. With a quick spin of his body, the older ninja hurled several kunais at Sasuke. Unable to avoid the coming weapons, Sasuke quickly preformed the hand seals for a replacement jutsu. When all the kunais took hit, a puff a smoke engulfed Sasuke revealing a log with an explosive tag attached to it. Getting his feet back on the ground, Itachi quickly rushed forward toward the entrance of Konoha as the tag went off. He looked over at the gates and saw people running for safety. Out of the corner of his eyes, Itachi spotted Sasuke moving in the cover of the forest. Three kunais with explosive tags attached to them landed in Itachi's waiting hands and he quickly threw them in the direction of Sasuke.

Not knowing when the tags may explode, Sasuke concentrated his chakra into his feet and quickly rushed up a tree in time, avoiding the blast. He jumped from branch to branch, his eyes focused on Itachi. He heard sirens go off and wonder if the ninjas guarding the gate had spotted him or Itachi. After passing a large tree, Sasuke lost sight of his brother. When he turned his attention forward, a kunai flew passed him and the explosive tag attached to it went off. The impact forced Sasuke off balanced and made him crash his left shoulder into one of the many trees. Cringing at the pain, Sasuke forced himself to keep going; he would have to battle with an injured shoulder or find Sakura to have her heal it. He sensed Itachi's chakra ahead and forced himself to catch up with the man.

"Where are you planning to go Itachi?" Sasuke yelled.

The older Uchiha didn't look back nor give an answer. Getting impatient, Sasuke took out a kunai with an explosive tag on it and flung the weapon directly at his brother. Itachi suddenly vanish right before the tag went off and appeared behind Sasuke. Drawing out Kusanagi, Sasuke turned around and attempted to slash the blade through the older male. The moment the blade came in contact with Itachi, he disappeared in a puff of smoke and the only thing his blade sliced through was a log.

"You're impatient to fight otouto," Itachi said.

Sasuke turned his attention to where the voice came from and saw Itachi standing on a branch not too far from him. His clenched the hilt of his blade tightly; he didn't understand why Itachi was capable of being a step ahead of him all the time. Itachi stared emotionlessly back at his younger brother.

"Why do you want to finish our battle in Konoha?" Sasuke questioned. "Of all the places you could have chosen, why Konoha?"

A sly smirk appeared upon Itachi's lips. "I can't tell you that," he said turning around. "But if you want to talk, we'll talk back at home."

"I want an answer now!"

Itachi's body separated into dozens of crows and flew into the village. The village was already in a panic state; he had to use the opportunity to attempt to get pass the ciaos and over to the abandoned Uchiha compound.

* * *

His gaze shot up from the memorial stone to the village. Kakashi didn't understand why the sirens were going off; it didn't make any sense. He thought that it was possibly a false alarm of some sort, but it lasted too long and no one had been dispatched to inform him that it was a false alarm. He didn't like what was happening and knew something was up. He decided to head to the Hokage mansion, but an ANBU ninja appeared.

"Hatake Kakashi," the ninja said. "You are ordered to arm yourself in ANBU gear." The silver haired man narrowed his eyes in confusion. "S-ranked criminal Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke have been spotted not too far from the gates of Konoha. You and many others will be engaging them in attempts of capturing them."

Immediately Kakashi left in a whirlwind of leaves to the Hokage office; he knew those weren't order from Tsunade. The moment he arrived, the elders had just exited the office and Tsunade broke her desk in pure rage. Yamato entered the office through the window, panting for air.

"The sighting of the Uchiha brothers is true," Yamato said. "I couldn't find Sakura anywhere though."

"Damn it all!" Tsunade yelled. "Yamato, I want you to keep looking, Sakura is bound to be out there. When you do find her, do whatever it takes to keep her away from Root, especially Danzou!"

"Hai!" the shinobi said then left.

The Godaime Hokage turned her attention to Kakashi. "I presume an ANBU ninja approached you with order to engage either one of the Uchiha brothers." The silver haired ninja nodded. "I should have seen this coming."

"What's going on?" Kakashi asked.

"The elders stripped my powers as Hokage temporally and put that asshole Danzou in charge until they're dead!" Tsunade said in frustration. "I was able to get Shizune to put out an order in time to have all genins and chuunins evacuate all the villagers into the caves. She and a few other medics will remain in the hospital to care for those in critical conditions and can't be moved. I don't want anyone innocent to get involved in this political battle. From what Genma was able to find out, the entire village is under a strong genjutsu and has fooled us into believing the Akatsuki organization is attacking us. I have no other choice but to use this genjutsu to my advantage to get everyone into safety." Tsunade looked out the window. "The structural damage on the other hand is real."

"Does Danzou know about the genjutsu?" Kakashi asked. "I doubt he would actually believe the Akatsuki are attacking the village."

"That idiot doesn't see Akatsuki as a threat just because Naruto isn't here," the blond woman said. "The only thing I want done is to have the entire village evacuated into safety and stop Danzou by any means necessary. He is not allowed to go near Itachi, Sasuke, nor Sakura!"

Kakashi stepped out the open window. "Yamato is looking for Sakura. I'll try to find the brothers to keep Root away from them."

"Prevent the two from fighting each other Kakashi!" Tsunade yelled out to the shinobi, but he didn't get her message.

Kakashi lifted up his headband to use his Sharingan to spot the high level chakra belonging to Sasuke. He had thought about summoning all his ninja dogs to help him track Sasuke, but it would prove to be a problem with all the ciaos that was happening. He knew Itachi was behind the powerful genjutsu; there wasn't anyone else capable of enforcing an illusion this strong. As he saw the destruction of buildings, he found out how they were caused; high level explosive tags were being triggered remotely. Everything had been planned out perfectly and had to be done ahead of time. He established his assumptions on the last time Itachi was in the village; it was a few days after the Sandaime's funeral years ago.

He couldn't find the young man anywhere from the rooftops and began running through the streets. Though Sasuke didn't possess the same chakra control abilities as Sakura, Kakashi knew the young man had his own ways of hiding his chakra. He caught sight of a cloaked figured with its chakra masked; it had to be either one of the brothers. Taking his chances, Kakashi followed the person through the crowded streets. When he saw the stranger turn at the corner and into an alleyway, the copy ninja followed in only to encounter a dead-end. Quickly jumping up to the rooftop, Kakashi tried to find the person he was tailing. The moment he saw the cloaked formed, the copy ninja chased after the person. When the silver haired shinobi thought he had caught up, he was once again lead into a dead end.

Kakashi leaped onto the roof; he was lead farther into the village. Without a second though, he ran toward the gate. He kept wondering whether Root would have anything to do with misleading him. The more Kakashi thought about it, the more it made sense; Tsunade had told him Danzou wasn't allow to met up with any of the three. Root was creating false leads to throw him off.

—xXx—

Sasuke ran through the panic streets of Konoha toward his abandoned childhood home. The hood of his cloak shied his face from all eyes to keep people from recognizing who he was. His chakra infused feet carried him as fast as they could through the crowded streets; yes jumping from the roof tops would be faster, but he would risk being spotted easily. As he ran, his crimson orbs shifted to see if he could catch a sight of orange anywhere. Because he didn't see the blond idiot, he assumed Naruto went to search for Sakura.

He had to be cautious; not too long after entering the village, Sasuke had spotted several ANBU ninjas flash close by him. They were tailing him closely to wait for the right time to engage him. Sasuke didn't have the time or energy to waste to fight them off. As he continued on, a familiar chakra and blur of silver passed him. He knew right away who it possibly was, but didn't look back to check. Sasuke was getting closer, but a small of group of ANBU ninjas stood in his was. Sasuke skidded his feet to a stop, his crimson orbs narrowing at the armed ninjas in front of him.

"You must surrender to the Root ANBU Uchiha Sasuke," one said.

"Get out of my way," Sasuke demanded.

None of the ANBU moved; Sasuke was getting irritated and decided he would have to work fast if he wanted to catch up to Itachi before he entered the Uchiha compound. Four shurikens fell from his sleeves and into his waiting hand. With quick speed, Sasuke threw the throwing stars directly at the ninjas in front of him and vanished to reappear behind them. He was about to knock them out when someone beat him to it.

"Stay away from the ANBU ninjas Sasuke." The dark haired shinobi looked at the silver haired man with narrowed eyes. "We wouldn't want you captured by them."

"I don't need your help Kakashi," Sasuke said as he turned around and began walking away. "Don't even try to stop me from getting my revenge."

"Don't worry, I won't stop you. I know your revenge means everything to you." Sasuke stopped in his tracks. "But tell me something Sasuke," Kakashi said. "Where is Sakura?"

Sasuke didn't know where she was or where she had gone after he left her with Riku, but he was unsure whether he could trust Kakashi at the moment. He knew something wasn't right; Sasuke didn't believe that the ninja was really Kakashi. He knew the silver haired man would always try to reason with him to abandon his revenge, but the Kakashi he had just encounter didn't even attempt to do so. Sasuke knew something wasn't right; something was going on and somehow he and Sakura were involved in it unknowingly. He didn't care whether Kakashi was a fake or not, the young man had to lie.

"Itachi killed her," was all he said before continuing on.

A puff of smoke engulfed Kakashi and a cloaked ANBU stood in his place. "I doubt what you say is true Uchiha."

The young Uchiha saw the entrance to the compound and saw Itachi walking toward it. The genjutsu over the village was slowly fading as its caster approached his destination. Sasuke didn't want to enter the abandon living quarter, but Itachi was forcing him to go. He suddenly felt the ground shake and Riku shot up from the ground. Itachi was forced up into the air. Using the sudden appearance of his summoning to his advantage, Sasuke ran up Ruki's body and sent a range of weapons flying at Itachi. The former Akatsuki member disintegrated into a bunch of crows and formed again behind Sasuke. Extending out his right arm out, Itachi grabbed hold of Sasuke and threw him down. He was close to hitting the ground when he felt someone behind him lessen the impact. When the familiar scent of cherry blossoms entered his nostrils, he knew right away who it was.

He turned his head and saw his pink haired kunoichi. There was a wound on her left temple that was bleeding, her face showing pain. He felt a warm upon his chest and saw her hand upon his chest with a kunai imbedded in her hand.

"Sakura you shouldn't be doing this," Sasuke said. He got up and kneed beside her.

"If I didn't then you would have been injured badly," she replied with defiant signs of pain written over her face.

Sasuke gritted his teeth; he was putting her in danger because he couldn't defend himself from Itachi. He let the seal spread over his left arm and placed his hand over Sakura's seal. Immediately her own seal began to spread over her entire body, changing her. When smoke was beginning to emit from her wounded hand, Sasuke quickly pulled out the kunai. When Sakura was healed, he removed his hand and let the seal retreat back. His crimson orbs studied her then looked down at her lower abdomen. The two different chakra presences within her were both strong and he was relieved nothing serious had happen to Sakura or his offspring. He winced when he felt pressure on his left shoulder; Sakura had noticed it was injured and went to heal it right away. When she was done, Sakura took out the scroll needed to properly enforce the barrier. His eyes sadden when he looked at her. His right hand reached up and cupped her face, his thumb stroked her gently. She closed her eyes trying, to hold back all her tears; she wasn't going to cry now.

"Promise me you'll be careful and watch over them," he said as his other hand touched her flat belly.

Sakura bit her lower lips, nodded, and turned her back toward him, letting his hand run into her pink locks. She couldn't look at him without feeling hurt. "You should go," she said, sniffing.

He ran his fingers down her hair and onto the back of her neck. His hand pulled down the collar of the haori, revealing the heaven seal upon the nape of her neck. Sasuke leaned his head down as he let his own seal release across his body, changing him. Placing his mouth over the curse seal, he bit hard into her porcelain skin; Sakura winced at the pain but didn't move to stop him. She felt his powerful chakra streaming into her until he stopped. She felt the warm liquid of her own blood slowly run from the bite before it healed itself through Sasuke's chakra.

"Aishiteru," he whispered into her ear.

Sakura turned around quickly with wide eyes, but Sasuke was already vanishing. He was almost completely gone when she felt his lips against her own. Her fingers grazed over her lips; it felt as if Sasuke gave her his last kiss and his parting gift to her was his chakra. She held back her tears as she bit into her right thumb to draw some blood. Opening up the scroll, she smeared her blood upon the parchment. Dropping the scrolled on the ground, Sakura performed the proper hand seals and then slammed her palms on to the scroll. A purple chakra barrier formed around the entire Uchiha compound, sealing the brothers within until the battle is finished.

"Are we going to wait Sakura-san?" Riku asked.

Sakura wiped her eyes and nodded. "When the battle is over, I want to be able to get Sasuke out of here if things turn out to dangerous."

"It seem like Sasuke lied," a voice said.

The pink haired kunoichi turned her attention toward the voice and saw Danzou. Standing there along with him was Sai and several other Root ANBU ninjas. Riku hissed dangerously, disliking the group of ninjas that approached the kunoichi.

"You know very well what the ANBU ninjas do to intruding criminals," Danzou said.

She didn't like where this was going. "That is if the orders are given out by the Hokage," Sakura said as she pulled out her combat gloves from her pouch and placed them on.

Danzou smirked. "Unfortunately for you, Tsunade can't save you know."

—xXx—

Sasuke stood in front of the broken doors that lead into his abandoned home. He entered and went in the direction of where Itachi's chakra was at. He passed the familiar surroundings and saw the ghost of his younger self running through the house. The young happy boy has been replaced that cruel night with an emotionless mask. He had unanswered questions that needed to be answered, but whether he would get the chance to ask was unknown. When he finally arrived, Sasuke stood in front of what used to be the living room. Itachi was seated in a chair that was placed against the screen wall with his left arm out of its sleeve and resting on the top of his fastened cloaked.

"Tell me Sasuke," Itachi said. "What do you see with you Sharingan?"

"I see you dead," Sasuke replied with venom.

Itachi closed his eyes and leaned his head back."You see me dead?" He turned his gaze back at his younger brother. "Well then…" Itachi appeared behind him. "Let's see how good your eyesight is."

Both males swung their body to the right with their arm shooting in for an attack. A kunai came out of Itachi's sleeve and into his hand, aimed at Sasuke's head. With no time to draw out his own weapon to defend, Sasuke stopped Itachi by locking wrist. Itachi pushed forward for a direct attack as Sasuke left arm reached over for his blade. Quickly drawing it out, Sasuke was able to block the kunai directed at him. Itachi began to push his body weight toward Sasuke, as if to charge at him. Grabbing hold of the back of Sasuke's cloak, Itachi jumped up. The young raven haired man lost his footing on the ground as his foot skidded from the extra weight his body had to support. Sasuke propelled his sword forward to try to wound Itachi, but he missed. Swinging his legs forward, Itachi landed on his feet behind his brother once again. With all the strength he had in his left arm, he yanked Sasuke back and made him tumble on the floor, breaking the worn out door made of wood and paper that lead into and other room. The sword in his hand was free and stabbed through the matted floor.

Quickly getting back up, Sasuke performed the necessary hand seal for the jutsu his silver haired sensei had thought him. Chakra began to gather around his left hand and crackled with the sounds of a thousand birds chirping. The only reaction he got from the older male was an emotionless stare. Sasuke dashed toward his brother as he stretched out his other arm to grab his katana out of the ground. When he was a short distance away from Itachi, the young Uchiha slammed his left hand onto the ground, sending an electrical current through the ground. It was close to reaching him when Itachi jumped up. Sasuke jumped up in front of his brother and stabbed Kusanagi straight through Itachi. The older Uchiha's face was written with surprise while the young male had en evil grin over his face. He forced his brother's numb body to slam down on the ground. He hovered above him, staring down at the dying man.

"You've gotten… much stronger…"

Sasuke kept the sword embedded in his brother's body. "This is the end Itachi." His crimson orbs slightly softened. "But before I kill you, I have one last question."

Itachi lifted his right arm up, trembling as he brought his index and middle finger toward Sasuke's forehead. He thought Itachi was going to poke his forehead like he had done when they were younger, but then the older Uchiha pointed to his left. Sasuke quickly spun his head over and saw Itachi stilling on the chair like nothing had happened, staring at him. Sasuke couldn't believe his eyes and turned his gaze back at the one he had attacked. He watched his body turn into a bunch of crows and became furious; Itachi was playing with him.

Sasuke stood up, pulling his sword off the ground. "Just like last time… you combined your jutsus with genjutsu to make crows while saying those same words…"

"The end is a long way off," Itachi said calmly. "But I'm willing to listen to you. What do you want to know otouto?"

Gritting his teeth, the younger Uchiha male glared at his brother. "Have you gone deaf?"

Crimson orbs widen when Itachi felt his brother's blade pierce through his body from behind. Kusanagi missed his heart, but punctured his lung, the tip of the blade dripped with blood. He began to cough up some blood as his eyes watched the Sasuke before him turn into snakes and vanish.

"Genjutsu… clever of you otouto…"

"I've said this is the end," Sasuke voice spoke from the other side of the screen wall. "Before I kill you, I have one last question. Who were you referring to when you spoke of the Mangekyou Sharingan?" Itachi didn't say a word. "Answer me now unless you want to know what real pain is!"

Itachi let out a small chuckle. "You avoided striking a fatal blow on purpose…"

"Who is the third Uchiha survivor Itachi?" Sasuke questioned dangerously. "Who is the other Sharingan user that you told me about that night?"

Itachi signed and turned his head back slightly to look at the silhouette of Sasuke. "Why do you want to know about him?"

"I want to know who he is because that bastard is next on my list after I kill you," he answered. "I'm going to close the book on the Uchiha clan and let it start over with me leading it." Itachi didn't say a word and let his brother continue. "I realized after all these years that on the night you wiped out the clan, there was one person you didn't kill. Whoever that person is ended up helping you." Itachi smirked. "Even if you were a prodigy, you couldn't have killed the entire Uchiha clan on your own."

"So you've figured it out," Itachi said as he leaded his body toward the side. "It's Uchiha Madara, the very first person to ever awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan."

"Bullshit!" Sasuke yelled. "He was one of the founding fathers of Konoha; he's long dead."

"Madara is very much alive," Itachi said. "But I can't force you to believe me, that's your choice. People live their lives bound by what they accept as correct and true. That's now they define reality."

"What do you mean?"

"Like you way you simply decided that Madara must be dead. Like the way you believed that I was a kind, caring nii-san."

Sasuke's eyes slightly soften as a flash of images of his childhood passed his eyes. The images of himself with Itachi always smiling, training together, enjoying each other's company, and just hanging around with each were memories he held precious until that night. Every single happy memory that was only of the two of them meant everything to him; Itachi was his idol, he wanted to grow up to be just as strong as Itachi. He wanted to be the little brother again, always looking up to his sibling.

"I was so young… my only explanation was that it was a horrible nightmare. I wanted to believe it wasn't real and that it was just someone's cruel genjutsu. But it did happen! That was reality!"

Sasuke's left arm extended out as he shot out a streak of lighting in the opposite direction he was facing, breaking the genjutsu. The manipulated chakra missed Itachi's head by a few inches as he just stared at Sasuke.

"My eyes are wide open now!" Sasuke yelled. "My Sharingan sees right through your genjutsu!"

"I suppose this time your threats aren't just words anymore."

The illusion in front of Sasuke began to disappear and he canceled his attack. "Does this mean you're ready to stop playing around?"

Itachi shook his head slightly. "You still don't have the same eyes as me Sasuke."

The younger Uchiha withdrew his left hand back into the cover of his cloak. His hand was shaking slightly and he didn't want Itachi to know about it. The battle of genjutsu was having an effect on him and he had to gain control of his body if he wanted to win against the man before him.

"Then use the Mangekyou Sharingan and try to kill me now! Or is it possible that I'm too strong for you to beat."

Itachi shook his head and sighed. "You're very confident, even though you don't know the unique characteristic of the Mangekyou Sharingan." Itachi stood up from his seat; Sasuke kept his eyes focused on Itachi's movements as he continued to listen to what the man had to say. "From the day you awaken it, your eyes begin to slowly descent into darkness." Itachi walked over to Sasuke and stopped when he was only a few steps away from him. "The process quickens if it is used often and eventually the kaleidoscope will lose its light."

"The price you pay for gaining control of the Kyuubi is blindness," Sasuke said. "That was the only thing missing from the inscriptions, but you knew about it. Knowing this, you still wanted and gained those eyes."

"Madara was my accomplice and my sensei. His eyes tamed the Kyuubi, controlling it like a pet." Itachi's Sharingan began to change. "He is the only person in history to learn the final secret of these eyes."

"He learned the final secret of the Mangekyou Sharingan?" Sasuke looked at Itachi in disbelief. "There's more than being able to control the Kyuubi?"

"The last and most important piece of the puzzle relates to our clan's history; the story of Madara and his own otouto."

—xXx—

The once clear sky was now dark and gloomy with heavy thick rain clouds hovering everywhere. The earth was in ruins with unconscious ninjas on the ground. All sorts of weapons were scattered over the battle grounds. More ninjas were around, surrounding the area to keep the enemy from escaping. The large reptile hissed as his golden orbs kept watch over who was going to make a move to attack. The three rookie teams stood afar with Shikamaru reasoning them to disobey Danzou's orders of attacking the pink haired kunoichi. He was going to wait for Naruto and follow the blond; in a situation like this, he could only trust the blond shinobi. Kakashi and Yamato watched from the rooftop; when Sakura spotted them coming her way, she requested they stay away saying so not to get them involved. The silver haired man as gravely worried for the pink haired kunoichi. She knew they wanted to help her, but this was her battle.

Sakura panted for air as she tried to keep her body balance. Her peach skin and cloths were covered in dirt and dry blood; her cloak left forgotten by the barrier. Because she was restricted to use up all her chakra, the pink haired kunoichi had been popping capsule after capsule to replenish her chakra. There wasn't any kind of side effect that came with consuming the pills and she was relived about it. She didn't use the tremendous chakra Sasuke had infused into her; she kept it surround the womb to ensure the lives Sasuke had seen stay protected. To her it symbolized Sasuke was around protecting their unborn babies from harm. She refused to use the power of the curse seal, fearing what it could do to her and the babies. The pink haired kunoichi knew the effects of the curse seal could cost her to lost the growing lives and even kill her. She had used up most of the senbon needles she possessed that were coated in a liquid tranquilizer on the ANBU ninjas. Though hand to hand combat was where she strived at, fighting up close with this many ninjas was too dangerous for her; she would have to do her best with long range attacks and her speed.

Sakura made a few hand sighs and let her body change into a cluster of cherry blossom petals. Elite ninjas rushed forward as the pink petals flew around them, trapping them within a tornado. The cyclone began to get smaller and the petals began to slice into the skin of the ninjas. They were suddenly thrown out of the whirlwind when it began to die down, revealing the pink haired kunoichi. Sensing several chakra presences above her, she looked up to see fire balls raining down. Sakura realized she wouldn't be able to avoid the attack and taking the damage would force her to use the curse seal if she wanted to heal herself completely. She watched as her surrounding disappeared and darkness took it place; Riku had rushed over and enveloped Sakura within his coils. When the attack was over, Riku uncoiled the barrier he had created. She looked at the snake and noticed the burn marks; she felt dreadful for having Riku protect her. Sakura looked over and saw Danzou with a sly grin on his face. She couldn't hold back anymore, no matter how dangerous it was going to be for her. She touched her flat belly in regret knowing what could happen. Sakura felt the drizzling rain water upon her skin; the sky was crying.

"Gomen little ones," she whispered. The black markings of the seal began to spread over her body. "Kaa-san can't keep her promise to your tou-san."

She rushed forward tossing kunais and shurikens as her emerald orbs changed into a golden tint. An opposite set of weapons canceled out the ones the kunoichi threw. Sai came forward and began to paint quickly then summoned the paintings into life; tigers rushed forward to pounce on their prey. Right when they were about to reach Sakura, she punched the ground with enormous strength, breaking the earth beneath her and causing a large quake. Sai struggled to keep his balance while keeping an eye on Sakura's movements. Her transformation was complete and her tactics were different. He quickly drew his sword out and blocked the blade swung at him. Sakura veered her left leg directly into his gut, sending him flying back. Sensing someone behind her, Sakura turned around swing the sword with her full strength. Sharp metal blades clash against one another.

Sakura's eyes widen when she felt several needles puncture her back. More were being aimed at her and Riku shielded the kunoichi. She was beginning to lose control of her muscles as she became numb. She knew what type of drug coated the needles and tried to force her body to fight against it. Her grip on the hilt of the blade was weakening and her arm was beginning to shake. Her control over Sasuke's chakra around her womb started to weaken, leaving the developing lives vulnerable to harm.

"You lose Sakura," Danzou said as he pulled out another sword.

He drove the blade directly into her lower abdomen, piercing through her body; her mouth fell open in a wordless scream. The white haori she wore began to soak up her blood as some dripped off the tip of the blade. Blood began to seep out the corner of her lips; she felt waves of pain surrounding her abdomen and knew it wasn't a good sign. Smoke formed around the wound, but it wouldn't heal unless the blade was removed. Her gloved hand grabbed onto the blade, trying to pry it out of her body in order for her injury to heal. She tried with all the strength she could muster to eradicate the sword out of her, but all it was doing was cutting her hand. Her body was beginning to weaken; her eye sight was becoming hazy.

'_**You want to win against this bastard don't you?'**_ a sinister voice asked. _**'I can tear him apart, into pieces just like I did to Itachi. All you have to do is to give me full control and it will be done.'**_

'_NO!'_ she told the nightmare in her mind. _'Stay buried away in my mind!'_

'_**You will surely lose that you cherish without my help,'**_ the voice said. _**'You're too weak and delicate, just like your name sake.'**_

'_I won't let you come out!'_

'_**Then I have no other choice but to make you give into me.'**_

Sakura felt one of the two chakras slowly weakening; her worse fear was happening. She couldn't sustain her form much longer and battle her other self at the same time. The curse seal was slowly beginning to retreat, turning her back to the pink haired kunoichi she was. Her arm slowly lowered as time passed, but she wouldn't give up on holding off the other blade; she wasn't going to let it slice her throat. Danzou twisted the blade making the woman cringe in pain to get her to release her hold to kill her.

"Oy asshole!" a very familiar voice said.

Danzou turned his attention to the side and had his face run into an incoming punch. The leader of the secretive group of ninjas released the hold he had on the sword and collided to the ground. Feeling the pressure released, Sakura dropped the sword she had in her hand and swayed to the side until someone caught her. She felt herself lifted into a pair of arms and brought somewhere before being place gently down on top of her cloak. She recognized right away who had saved her from the orange and black pattered clothing.

"Naruto…" Sakura spoke.

"Gomen Sakura-chan, I'm late" Naruto said. "I promise you I'm going to give that bastard a beating he'll never forget." The blond shinobi looked over at the lavender haired woman. "Take care of her Hinata-chan."

"Hai," the timid girl replied.

Riku coiled himself around the two kunoichis, creating a barrier. The senbon needles on her back were removed with no definite damage done; it was coated with a tranquillizer that took immediate effect, but only worked for only a minute or less. Sakura felt the Hyuuga heiress place her hand on her back healing the wound as her other hand slowly withdrew the sword from her. Hinata didn't want to remove the blade at once afraid it would cause her friend to bleed to death. Sakura didn't scream from the enormous pain, but her body was shaking. After removing the sword, Hinata poured her chakra into healing the pink haired kunoichi. When the dark haired woman stumbled across a foreign chakra she looked shocked.

"Sakura-san your –"

Sakura placed her index finger over her blood covered lips and shook her head slightly, telling Hinata to keep it to herself. Hinata looked worried; she knew what the beating the pink haired kunoichi took could do to her life. Sitting up, Sakura reached into her pouch for two pills and consumed them. Gathering a bit of chakra into her wounded hand, she healed the gashes. The surging pain in her abdomen hadn't gone away and she knew she had failed; she failed to protect something so dear to her and Sasuke. Tears fell from her eyes; she was hurting so much. Her ears rang with the clash of kunais; she recognized the different chakras and knew Naruto wasn't alone in this fight. Sakura felt like her twelve your old self again, helpless and weak. It was just as her other self had claimed; something she cherished would be lost to her.

Water droplet poured down heavily, soaking everything in its path. Sakura tear stained face looked up at the sky, letting the rain drops wash away her anguish. She felt a sting pain on the nape of her neck and knew it was the seal; something was wrong with Sasuke. She turned her gaze at the chakra barrier; the risk was too great, but she wasn't going let her husband die. She had already lost something precious; she wasn't going to lose another. Taking a small piece of paper out, Sakura wrote something down with her blood. She folded the piece of paper and held it out to Hinata.

"Take this to Naruto," Sakura said.

Hinata took the small piece of paper; she was concerned about what the pink haired kunoichi was going to do. The lavender haired woman was about to oppose, but the pleading face told her otherwise. She took one last look at the kunoichi before rushing off to give the note to the blond ninja.

"Come here Riku." The snake lowered its head. "I have one last request from you."

—xXx—

He finally understood his brother's true intent; the man wanted power that could only be given through the eyes of their clan's bloodline. Itachi didn't kill him all those years ago because he needed and wanted Sasuke to master the power of the Sharingan eyes and gain the Mangekyou. Itachi had everything planned out so he would gain what he wanted; the eyes of his younger brother.

The room had been destroyed with dozens of shuriken. His dark cloak had been removed, the bandages over his injures tossed away; the seal upon his forearms revealed. Sasuke was on his knees panting for air; his left hand was placed over his left crimson orbs. His felt numb, but he still had control of his body. The illusion created by Tsukuyomi truly felt real, too real that he felt pain. The feeling of having his eye brutally removed by Itachi still lingered in his mind. The older Uchiha held his left hand over the eye that held the illusion; the sudden break of the illusion cause his eye slight pain. He stared viciously at his younger brother, gritting his teeth in anger.

"My Tsukuyomi…"

The younger Uchiha steadily stood back up, his body slightly wobbly with a smirk over his lips. "I told you, you can use your eyes on me over and over again, but my hatred for you will make my dream into reality."

"Make an illusion real? Fair enough… then I say the same to you otouto." Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Through Tsukuyomi, you didn't just see true intentions; you saw an illusion of me ripping your eye out of its socket… that illusion will become reality."

Sasuke watched as Itachi shut his left eye and focused his other eye on him. The battle of genjutsu was finally over, but now he would have to suffer the wraith of Itachi's ninjutsu. The moment Itachi moved, Sasuke touched the seal on his right forearm and a large windmill blade appeared in his hand. He threw it straight at Itachi, aiming to decapitate the older man. Itachi ducked to avoid the blade, only to notice that within the shadow another blade charged with Chidori was coming at him.

Itachi quickly jumped forward in between the two twirling blades. Though he avoided being sliced, the older failed to notice two thin wires connected to the blades. With a quick pull, all eight blades separated and shot out in the direction they were pointing at. With no chance of evading, one of the blades stabbed into Itachi's left thigh. As he removed the blade, Itachi was having a hard time seeing his brother in front of him. Sasuke pulled out the chakra wires from his wrist and preformed several hand signs.

"Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

His injured leg would be a nuisance, but Itachi jumped up to avoid being burned. After clearing the fire ball below him, he saw Sasuke charging up at him, ready to plunge Chidori into his heart. With only one chance of escape, Itachi blew out a large fire ball at Sasuke while propelling himself through the ceiling. When the smoke cleared, Sasuke stood far from Itachi with his right claw like wing protecting him from being burned; the seal's marking covered half his face. The brothers began to mimic each other, performing the same hand signs at the same time. They blew fire out like dragons, pouring their strength to keep their own burning stronger. The flames Itachi blew were being pushed back as Sasuke continued to send his own forward. Left with no other choice, Itachi had to use his trump card. He closed his eyes and blood began to seep out of his right eye. When he opened his eye, the orange flames turned black, consuming the flames Sasuke blew. It didn't matter how fast he was, he was never going to be able to avoid the flames. Right when the dark flames were about to reach him, Itachi quickly shut his right eyes, making the flames vanish. His sole crimson orb stared at his younger sibling, prepared to unleash the flames of Amaterasu once again.

Sasuke watched his brother as he tried to think of his next move, however all he could think of lead to his ultimate attack. He knew he would be sacrificing the life he possibly could have just for this one chance, but there wasn't anything else he could do. He was going to make the drizzling sky mourn loudly; he was going to use the flames of Amaterasu to his advantage. The young Uchiha maneuver to the right making Itachi opening his right orb to send the dark flames to intercept him, then quickly turned his body motion in the other direction. Sasuke watched as a second set of flames began to form behind him, chasing after him; Itachi's bleeding eye socket containing the strained orb following his movements.

As Sasuke continued to attempt to outrun the oncoming flame, his onyx orbs watched as the first set of dark flames head toward the houses. The Uchiha compound began to burn when Amaterasu reached him. He moved the claw like wing to shield himself from getting burn, but lost his footing and fell. Sasuke yelled in pain, the black flames eating away at his flesh. When it seemed like Sasuke was either unconscious or dead, Itachi stopped the flames of Amaterasu. The older sibling walked over with his half lidded orbs. Right when he was about to grab onto Sasuke's hair to lift his head up, the young male's body turned to liquid and seeped through the crakes.

Sasuke's drenched body come out of the ceiling and he landed on his feet. He noticed he had stumbled upon his old room and felt pained at the memories the place brought back; he had to leave behind his past in order to move on and make his final move. He let the curse seal consume his body as he kept his eyes on the small crack, watching Itachi. The older man held his hand over his right eyes as he tried to focus his vision. With the last bit of chakra he had left, Sasuke preformed several hand sign.

"Katon Gouryuuka no Jutsu!"

Several flames in the shape of dragon head came soaring up, crumbling the roof. Itachi quickly jumped away to avoid being burnt, but his right sleeve caught on fire. When the flames were out, Itachi stared down at Sasuke who was crouched slightly, panting. Itachi moved his hand away from his eye; his right eye was back to normal, but had lost its color. It was no long the onyx orbs he was born with, but a pale white; only his left eye was still crimson.

"I see that second Amaterasu took a lot out of you." Sasuke kneed on the ground as the seal retreated, his body completely exhausted and unable to sustain the cursed form. "This will probably be my final jutsu."

"Remember the Sharingan can see chakra otouto." Itachi kept his right eye closed as he watched his brother down below. "You can drop the act; I already know you're out of chakra." Sasuke stood back up on his feet. "The replacement you used to dodge my Amaterasu was a move straight from Orochimaru's collection. Although it's extremely difficult to detect, it also consumes a massive amount of chakra."

Sasuke stared up at his brother. "I won't deny the fact that I'm out of chakra… I used everything I had left for that fire technique." The rain began to pour heavily down as thunder roar. "Don't tell me you think I came here to kill you without preparing first?" Itachi's visible eye narrowed at Sasuke. "This technique is like Amaterasu… impossible to avoid. I will reproduce what I saw earlier… the vision of your death Itachi."

—xXx—

Naruto was fighting one on one against Danzou; he wasn't going to let the man get away for hurting Sakura. He stood on top of Gamakichi, panting for air; he never image fighting against an elite ninjas on his own would be this difficult. He wanted to use his new found technique, but he needed Fukasaku around to help him keep Danzou away. Every clone the blond ninja made was disposed of and without his clones he wouldn't be able to gather natural energy.

"Give up Kyuubi boy," Danzou said. Naruto clenched his fist in spite of the man. "You will never win."

Naruto jumped off the large toad and charged at Danzou. He made the familiar hand signs of his number one jutsu and a clone appeared on either side of him. Without even the slightest movements, Danzou had dispose of the clones. Approaching the man, Naruto drew back his right fist, ready to strike the man off his feet. Inches away, a hand reached out and grabbed Naruto's wrist, pulling him away and holding him back.

"Let me pummel him!" Naruto yelled as he tried to get free.

"Stop Naruto," Kakashi said to his student.

Naruto stopped struggling and saw his friends stop as well; Tsunade stood between the two sides in fury.

"I am the Godaime Hokage!" Tsunade yelled. "You have no authority to order these ninjas around Danzou!"

"The elders have granted me with the power and authority of a Hokage, therefore I possess the right to direct the ninjas." Danzou said calmly. "Anyone who stands against the safely of the village are to be detain and that includes you Tsunade."

"I don't give a rat's ass about what the elders say. With what you're doing, you're only destroying Konoha. Stop pretending; you aren't the Hokage of Konoha and will never be."

"You will regret those words Tsunade."

The Godaime didn't intend to run; she was going to protect the village one way or another. She was low on chakra after channeling most of it into her summoning to protect the villagers. Danzou dashed toward only to be hit by an oncoming attack.

"RASENGAN!"

The impact of the wind element jutsu sent the man forcefully back. He couldn't stand back anymore; he wasn't going to let anyone threaten his home.

"Anyone else wants their ass kicked?" Naruto questioned dangerously.

"Naruto-kun!" The said shinobi turned around to see a panic Hinata running toward him. He had a bad feeling something was wrong with Sakura. "Sakura-san told me to give you this," she said handing the small piece of paper to the blond.

He took the piece of paper and opened it up. After reading the short message written in blood, he dropped the paper and made a dash toward Sakura. Tsunade looked at the soaked paper and made out what it said. Her tears mixed with rain water that washed down her face; it held the one word she never wanted to hear.

_Sayonara_

"SAKURA-CHAN!" he yelled out, competing against the thunder. He ran as fast as he could through the destroyed earth, splashing water and mud upon his clothes. "STOP SAKURA-CHAN!" He saw her cloaked figure standing on top of the large snake and ran; he needed to stop her. "SAKURA-CHAN!" he desperately yelled out.

Tears fell from her sadden orbs, but she didn't dare look back. It didn't matter now loud the blond called out to her, her decision was final. She let the curse seal spread across half her body as she performed a few hand signs. Her body had taken a beating and head reached its limit, but her will to move on toward Sasuke was strong. Blood slowly began to drip from the corner of her lips as she let Sasuke's chakra flood her entire body, changing her own chakra signature. Sakura placed her hands against the barrier and began to push her way in; she shut her eyes tightly, flinching at the pain of a thousand needles puncturing her body simultaneously. More blood seeped out of her lips and her wounds were slowly reopening as she continued in, but she didn't dare pull out.

Naruto stopped right in front of the barrier, pounding his fist against it. He kept yelled out Sakura's name to get her to turn around to look at him, but she continued to ignore him. She stood on the roof top of an old abandoned house and looked at the district, at least what was left of it. Her desperate orbs searched around looking for any sign of Sasuke, but the ruin area made it difficult. The black flames of Amaterasu were slowly spreading, burning whatever it touched; the heavy rain didn't have any effect on the burning fire. The perimeter was almost completely surrounded by the black fames; she had to journey in soon if she didn't want to be trapped and caught. She covered her mouth as she began to cough violently, expelling out blood into her hands. His cerulean blue orbs watched the pink haired kunoichi; he wanted to go in, get her out, and bring her over to Tsunade to have her healed, but he couldn't get in. When she stopped coughing, Sakura reached into her pouch and grabbed another two pills to consume. After healing her reopened wound, she saw the large cumulonimbus cloud hovering in the center of the district with lightning flashing down. The pain in her abdomen was growing and becoming unbearable, but she continued on despite knowing was killing herself for pushing on forward. Tears spilled out of her eyes as she walked, leaving the blond alone.

Naruto watched her walk away from him, his body tiring out as he continued to yell and punch. He sunk down to his knees, head upon his lap, and arms around his body; his cries were muffed, his body trembling. The pain of being alone grew, consuming him into the darkness of failure he had left long ago. He didn't accomplish the promises he had made; most of which were important and meant everything to him. He felt a hand on his shoulder, but he still couldn't shake away the feeling of loneliness. He didn't care if they saw him crying; he had too many tears to shed. Kakashi's grip on his student's shoulder tightened, telling him to be strong. He knew the pain Naruto was going through and it would take time for him to heal if the worse comes. His one crimson orb stared deep into the ruin, trying to seek out the chakra of his other two students, but the strong chakra of the barrier prevented him from seeing them. He kept telling himself there was still hope for them.

"This can't be…" Tsunade said in a whisper, completely shocked. Her eyes stared in disbelief at the chakra wall in front of her. "They couldn't have…"

Kakashi looked up at the Hokage, bewildered by what was troubling her. He turned his gaze over at the large snake thinking he should question the summoning about the barrier. The reptile hissed then lowered his head down, his golden rob starting directly at Kakashi.

"The jutsu will only wear out when there is only one left alive or none."

Before Kakashi can ask anything, the midnight blue snake departed in a puff of smoke. He understood why the Godaime was struck with worry; he would eventually lose one or both of his students when the battle was over.

Thunder roared loudly, drawing everyone's attention to the sky. The lighting produced a shape of some sort that looked almost like a beast. Naruto looked up at the monster created out of lighting.

"Sasuke-teme…"

—xXx—

Sakura look up and saw the lighting creature hovering in the sky. Though Sasuke had told her about this attack, this was her first time witnessing it. She saw large bolder and took cover behind it; the blast would blow anything in its path away. She winced at the pain in her abdomen, it hurt so much. She felt the fierce wind and heard things crumbling from the blast. Her left arm was wrapped around her abdomen as she walked against the cracked walls. Suddenly her vision was eaten by darkness and the seal on the nape of her neck began to burn. The markings began to multiply across her body on their own, burning every inch of her body it covered. The unbearable pain forced her to scream.

—xXx—

Sasuke's crimson orb analyzed the lifeless body of his brother that lay a distance from where he was. Itachi's body laid face down upon the hard soaked ground; the Akatsuki cloak he wore was burn and gone. The crimson orbs of the Sharingan changed back into the onyx colored orbs to let him preserve what was left of his chakra. He had suffered and beat the genjutsu created from Tsukuyomi and felt the fire of Amaterasu upon him. His injuries and fractured bones didn't concern him. After a hash battle involving genjutsu, ninjutsu, and taijutsu, Itachi was dead.

"It's all over… I did it!"

"Was that what you saw… in your vision of my death?"

Sasuke eyes widen; he couldn't believe Itachi was getting back up with blood dripping from his mouth. He quickly turned into the second stage of the curse seal despite knowing it could kill him.

"DAMN YOU ITACHI!"

As Itachi got back on his feet, a ghostly figure began visible behind him.

"If I hadn't used this, I would have been obliterated by your lighting." Sasuke's golden orbs started at Itachi. He too had neither the Sharingan nor was his orbs onyx anymore; they were replaced with pale washed out color orbs. "Sasuke… you've become strong… very strong." Sasuke's body was shaking as he watched the ghostly figure of a skeleton change. "Behold… the last weapon in my arsenal, Susano."

Sasuke stood his ground even though his body had reached its physical limit. All he could rely on was the power of the curse seal without the use of his Sharingan.

"This is the third and final technique that was awoken along with these eyes on that fateful day." Itachi slowly began to walk forward with the demon figure surrounding him. "Are you finally out of techniques otouto? If you have any more moves up your sleeves… I suggest you stop trying to save them."

Itachi stared at Sasuke as he walked toward him. Sasuke's vision in his left eye began to blur and eye changed into that of a snake's. His low chakra level was making it difficult for him to contain Orochimaru.

"_**I can give you what you want…"**_ Sasuke tried fighting off Orochimaru. _**"Shall I lend you my power…?"**_

Itachi watched, waiting for what was to come. Sasuke was trembling with pain as he continued to fight off Orochimaru. He couldn't let him win; he had infused some of his own chakra into Sakura and she would be affected as well.

"_**Admit it, Sasuke-kun… you need me. Don't you want your revenge on Itachi?" **_Sasuke fell on his knees. _**"Come… unleash me… and your wish will be granted…"**_

Sasuke felt like his body was being ripped apart as large serpents emerged out of his shoulder and back, tearing through his black haori, right where the heaven curse seal was. A familiar voice screaming met the ears of both brothers; Sasuke tried as hard as he could to suppress the legendary sannin, but couldn't. Itachi stood where he was and watch the monster arise. Eight large serpent rose with their eyes fixed upon the older Uchiha.

"Orochimaru's hydra technique… the fool…"

Itachi walked forward as seven of the eight snakes moved in for an attack. The demon formed a sword and beheaded the seven serpents with ease. The older shinobi continued walking and watched as the last serpent opened its mouth, letting something emerge. When he recognized the figure, the older Uchiha could only smirk.

"You finally show yourself… Orochimaru…"

"The chance I've been waiting for has finally come and it's all thanks to you Itachi!" The sannin opened his mouth to let a sword come out. He pulled it out with ease and aimed the blade at the shinobi before him. "You forced Sasuke-kun to expend the chakra he used to keep me suppressed. Now I will take his body as my own and kill –"

The demon stabbed its blade right through Orochimaru and began to suck him into the round urn it carried. The hydra was completely absorbed into the urn, leaving Sasuke on his hand and knees, panting.

"Alright Sasuke, got anything else?" Itachi said as he continued to walk toward his little brother. "This is the end of the line otouto."

Sasuke looked at the man approaching him; he had to do whatever he could to stop and kill Itachi. Itachi clenched his shirt right over his heart; he kept bearing the pain throughout the battle. The younger sibling stared at his brother in confusion; he was unsure whether what he saw could be believable. It was as if a sudden heart attack hit Itachi before ceasing away as if it didn't happen.

"Your eyes belong to me now," Itachi said. "I'll take them slowly… I want to savor this."

Suddenly another wave of pain swept through his heart, making Itachi cringe. Sasuke watched as his brother began to cough up blood and the demon began to lose its form. Taking the opportunity, Sasuke reached into his pouch and pulled out a kunai with two explosive tags on it, and threw it directly at Itachi. After the exposition passed, Sasuke waited to see his brother's dead body on the ground. When the smoke cleared, Itachi was still standing, staring darkly at his younger sibling. Itachi started approaching him again. Though fear was never in his system before, it was now; the younger sibling truly feared his brother now. Sasuke forced his trembling body up and reached for a scroll in his pouch. Opening the scroll, he touched one of the symbols and pulled out a kunai with a number of explosive tags attached to it. He quickly threw it at Itachi, but the demon shielded him from harm. Sasuke gritted his teeth; he was left with no other chose but to attack Itachi head on. He drew out Kusanagi and rushed straight at Itachi. He was so close when the demon swiped its hand toward him, pushing him back. His body crashed into the ground painfully.

Sasuke quickly got back up on his feet; Itachi was only a few steps away from him. As he walked forward with his right hand extended out, the young Uchiha took a step back until he backed up against a wall. His body tremble with fear as the bloody hand of his bother approached closer. His fingers were centimeters away from his left eye when Itachi mumbled something to him. His eyes widen in shock as a smile grazed Itachi's lips. His index and middle finger poked Sasuke in the middle of his forehead then ran down his face, leaving a trail of his blood. Onyx orbs watched as the demon slowly began to disappear and Itachi's body swayed to the ground and onto his back. He panted, his mind trying to accumulate what had just happened.

The rain still poured, making it difficult for him to see off into the distance. He knew the black flames had surrounded every possible exit; though he survived the battle, he would die on the battle ground. He knew he was sacrificing everything when he planned to use Itachi's Amaterasu to his disposal. He shifted his eyes and stared down at Itachi; his eyes were half lidded and the blood upon him washed off with the rain water. Those pale orbs stared back at him blankly. He looked straight ahead and saw the battered body of his wife approaching. Sasuke thought it was an illusion his mind played on him, but when he realized it was really her, he forced his body to move, walking over to the woman. When his body could no longer walk, Sasuke slumped against a wall and onto the ground, sitting there. When Sakura was right in front of him, he extended his arm to her, inviting her into his arms. She gladly took his invitation and sat between his legs, hugging him as if they haven't seen each other for along time. She was happy he was alive. Her numb fingers removed the dark cloak she had on and used it to cover herself and Sasuke. His fingers grazed her blood stained lips, making the crimson liquid wash away. He held her close; Sasuke never imaged Sakura forfeiting everything just to be here with him.

"It hurts…" he whispered. "But I don't know why…"

Sakura bit down on her lips as a sudden wave of pain swept through her abdomen. She wrapped her arms around her body and her hands on her flat belly, doing her best to bare the pain. Sasuke turned his gaze down at her abdomen and placed his hand over hers. He noticed the blood stain on the white haori and blood beginning to run down her inner thighs and onto her dark shorts. Immediately he knew something bad must have happened.

"Gomen Sasuke-kun…" she said, beginning to cry. "I didn't protect them…"

Her sadden eye stared up at her husband and noticed blood began to seep out from his left eyes as if he was crying. It didn't matter anymore; having Sakura was more than enough for him. He wrapped his arms around her from within the cloak; their head being soaked by the water. She skinned into his embrace, prepared to welcome the darkness that would soon consume them both. Sasuke leaned his head against hers and let his eyes shut; he had no regrets for his two goals in life were accomplished.

They truly were going through things together.

* * *

Special appreciation to my great fanfic buddy: animequeen100!

**Hello again readers. Thanks to all of those that reviewed; sorry I wasn't able to reply back to you. It's another late update, but with a long chapter. I don't have as much time as I desire for writing my fanfic due to all the homework I'm getting in college, but I defiantly will continue this fanfic to the end. I estimate there to be at least 3 more chapters before this fanfic will be complete.**

**I know the last chapter had a lot of scene changes and it was confusing, but in this chapter, all the scenes are connected. Sorry for the ending of this chapter!**

**Please review! It is greatly appreciated!**

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**Special Extra!!** (what if scenario)**  
**

It was already lat in the afternoon and he was late. He had promised to arrive on time, but the pile of paper work kept building up. After organizing all the papers and documents, he sighed and placed the Hokage hat upon his head. He reached into the bottom drawer and took out a special large bottle of sake before heading out to his destination. As he walked down the village streets, he was greeted by the villagers, addressing him formally because of his position. All he did to acknowledge the greetings was a nod of his head.

He when toward a deserted part of the village that only certain authorized people could enter. When the entrance came into view, he felt a slight sting in his heart. The male stood in front of the entrance, somewhat hesitant about entering. With a small amount of chakra gathered into his hand, he pushed the gate opened and was greeted with a beautiful garden. He walked to the middle of the field and saw the familiar blond figure sitting there.

"Yo," the male said.

"Old habits die hard," the blond said. "Don't they sensei."

"Yes they do Naruto," Kakashi said as he sat on the ground, removing the hat upon his head. "But the pile of paper work keeps coming."

"Whether what you said is the truth or a lie we don't care anymore," Naruto said. "As long as you're here is what really matters." He placed out two small cups. "Did you bring the Sake?"

The silver haired man took out the bottle of sake and poured the clear alcoholic liquid into the cups.

Naruto lifted up his cup. "This is to Team Seven, the only group of students to ever have Hatake Kakashi as a sensei!"

Kakashi smiled behind his mask and clanked his cup against the blond. The ghostly figure of two cups came up, joining in on the toast. They sat in front of their tombstone; one had a smile, the other just smirked. The family reunited.

Today was their anniversary, the day they became known as Team Seven.


	31. Chap 31: Awakening Truth

**Hey there readers! Sorry for the very, very long awaited update. There are some SPOILS in this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this fanfic!**

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Chapter 31: Awakening Truth

Rain drizzled as the villagers fixed and rebuilt the damage that had occurred not too long ago. Regular citizen and ninjas worked together to turn the streets back to what they originally were even though they had to compete against the down pour. The hospital had been over flowed with admitted ninjas, but most had been discharged and were helping to mend the destruction. The destroyed living area that had been abandoned for years was still left untouched, especially after what had happened. What had actually taken place around there was unknown to all outsiders; those that did know about it had to keep it a secret. The villagers didn't need to know and the information couldn't spread to any neighboring villages.

The blond female sat in the room where her teammate laid. A month had passed, but the white haired man still hadn't woken up from his coma. She knew very well that patients in a coma can stay in it for months, even years and never wake up; she feared this was the case, not only for her teammate but for the other patients she had in the other room across.

She held his right hand in hers. "Sakura and Sasuke are in the recovery room across from you," she said. "I thought the only one I had to worry about was you, but now they're in the mix." She squeezed his hand as tears began to gather around her eyes. "Onegai Jiraiya, wake up. I need your support more than ever now."

Tsunade felt his hand move slightly before weakly squeezing her hand. She quickly turned her gaze over to his face and saw his eyes were slowly opening. Freeing her grasp, she gathered some chakra in her hand to analyze the waking man's condition. He was fine, but slightly weaker. Her ears caught him mumbling something and quickly lean her head over to listen closely to what he said.

"Quit… being depressed… Tsunade…" he spoke slowly. "I can't have… those large breasts of yours deflate… They're my biggest inspiration… for my next issue… of the Icha Icha series."

If the man hadn't just woken up from a coma, the blond woman would have sent him flying out the window. All she could do was smile in relief knowing she wasn't going to lose someone precious today.

"How long… have I… been out for…? Jiraiya asked. His voice was raspy.

"Almost a whole month…" she answered. Tsunade sat back down in her seat and took hold of Jiraiya's hand once again. "Much has happened since you were in a coma," she replied sadly. "And Naruto hasn't been quite himself lately because of it."

The Godaime told her teammate about what has happened since his was hospitalized; her findings of the mysterious marriage arrangement between Sasuke and Sakura when they were young, the riddle left behind by his deceased apprentice, and the battle in the village. It was a lot of information to absorb at once, but he understood the worries Tsunade had.

When he was asked to become the Godaime of the village years ago, he refused the position because of the responsibility; he has and always will be a carefree person. That wasn't the only reason why Jiraiya refused; he felt he couldn't live up to the name of Hokage after his mentor and student both did great things as the leader of the village. He wasn't a hero like them; he would never be in his own eyes.

"Sasuke and Sakura are in the room across," she said. "Neither has woken up." She turned her gaze away from the man and started down in the ground. "But I'm more worried about Sakura's condition than I am over Sasuke's."

"Why is that?"

"Sakura was almost dead when she was brought to me for healing," Tsunade whispered as the male squeezed her hand. "It got worse when I found out she was pregnant with twins." A tear fell from her eye. "I did all I could with the chakra I had left until Naruto contributed his. It took us so long until we finally stabled her condition."

"You and Naruto saved her life… she is alive because of the two of you."

She knew very well he was trying to comfort her and she appreciated it. "I should be going now," the Godaime said. "There are things that need to be done…" Tsunade stood from her seat and released the grasp on the male's hand. "You should rest now."

Jiraiya nodded and watched the blond woman leave. Her sadden chocolate orbs took one last glance at her teammate before exiting the room. She started at the door across from the one she had exited; the pain of losing those close to her stayed within her the day her other two patients were admitted in on her orders. She remembered every single detail of that day; it was haunting her to no end.

She walked over and slid the door open and saw what she had expected to see. The decent sized room housed two occupied beds, both patients still unconscious with machines hooked up to them to monitor their health. Both of them had an intravenous drip hanging on a rack at the corner of their bed, the needle inserted into a vein on their left arm to keep them hydrated. On their right index finger was a pulse detector, a ventilator was connected to an oxygen mask over their mouth and nose, and catheters inserted into certain parts of their body. They had bandages wrapped around their wounds and stitches they received. Around the male's eyes were white bandages containing medicine. They seem almost lifeless if no one noticed their chest slowly inflating and deflation with each breath they took.

The one thing that stood out within the almost white room was a seated figure. The occupied chair sat between the two beds with its inhabitant staring at the two lying on the hospital bed. His skin was pale from the lack of sun light he wasn't getting and dark circles surrounded his cerulean blue orbs. He seemed to be getting thinner and she knew he wasn't eating enough. She sighed quietly and closed the door; trying to convince the male to leave was impossible unless it for a short amount of time.

Ever since they were placed in for recovery, Naruto didn't want to leave them. He stayed in the hospital, day and night, never leaving the room. Kakashi brought fresh clothes and food for him every day; the silver haired man was a frequent visitor. Hinata and Shikamaru came in every few days to check on the blond and always brought a few flowers with them when they visited. Hinata had helped Tsunade greatly in healing Sakura and the blond shinobi was very grateful.

Naruto remembered what happened that day and was afraid of losing them. Every time he went to sleep, he saw their dead bodies and a tombstone with their names engraved into them. He knew that if they were to pass, he would need to cope with it, but the blow was too hard for him to deal with even now. He remembered what had happened as if it was a movie playing over and over again.

* * *

_The chakra barrier was finally diminishing. The silver haired man ordered his junior, Yamato, to raise the earth to make a safe passage for them to enter. Kakashi went in first without waiting for any orders with Genma following behind him; the young blond on the other hand was afraid of going in for he was scared of the sight he would end up encountering. The lavender haired woman couldn't stand the sight of the broken man in front of her and crouched down beside him, hugging the blond. She dearly wanted to comfort him._

_"You can't leave them Naruto-kun." Naruto didn't budge one bit. "Remember what you told me Naruto-kun? Those that abandon their friends are worse than trash."_

_When he heard those words coming from Hinata, he remembered what he had set out to do in the first place. Naruto stood back on his feet, thanking the slightly timid kunoichi. She was right; he wouldn't abandon them now no matter what after all they have gone through. He felt a hand on his shoulder and saw none other than the lazy genius standing behind him._

_"You're not alone in this Naruto," Shikamaru said. "You will always have us around."_

_He wasn't alone anymore; there were others around stand with him. "Let's go."_

_The blond shinobi ran in with Hinata and Shikamaru following him in. When they finally arrived at the clearing, Naruto came to a sight he prayed was false. Sasuke was sitting against a wall with the cherry blossom in his arms; it was like they knew they were going to die together. He couldn't approach them for the sight of them was already painful enough; his mind kept telling him he was too late to say his farewells to them._

_Kakashi stood not too far from the couple, uncertain about whether to approach them. After taking a deep breath, the silver haired shinobi walked over and kneed down to examine them; they truly looked as if they have moved on in life. Lifting up his gloved right hand, the silver haired shinobi checked the pulse of his raven haired student. He was relieved to know to the young man was alive, but now feared for the kunoichi. He quickly shifted his hand to check on Sakura; his worse fear has come to be._

_Wasting no time, Kakashi removed the pink haired woman from her position, took off his vest, and wrapped the young woman in it. Hinata knew something bad had happened and rushed over to aid in any way needed. Naruto watched the lavender haired woman nod to something Kakashi had said before he handed the woman in his arm over to Genma. The copycat ninja whispered something to his friend before he turn to head back out with Hinata following behind. He knew very well his eye didn't deceive him when he saw the blood dripping from Sakura's body and her skin turning pale. Naruto quickly turned his gaze over to his mentor and saw the hurt look in his eyes._

_"Naruto," he said, calling for the blond. "Get Sasuke out of here."_

_With the help of Shikamaru, they were able to get Sasuke's battered body onto Naruto's back for him to carry. He, along with his companion, left the area, leaving Kakashi behind momentarily. When they exited out, Anko directed Naruto to bring Sasuke to the hospital. The moment he arrived through the doors of the hospital, Anko cleared a path for Naruto to bring Sasuke into the operation room on the top floor where he would be treated by either Tsunade or Shizune. He was happy to know that Sasuke was alive, but the young man couldn't shake off the feeling that something bad had happened to Sakura. The words the snake summoning has said to them about the barrier played in his head and his worse fear plagued his mind; Sakura had given up her life in order for Sasuke to live._

_Naruto passed through the doors and placed Sasuke on one of the stretchers; Shizune immediately came over to inspect the condition of the male Uchiha. He looked over at the pink haired kunoichi and saw the ninja vest she was wrapped in was discarded and the haori was unfastened. Tsunade had her hands glowing green with chakra right over Sakura's heart while Hinata's was focusing her chakra over her lower abdomen. His heart sunk instantly at the sight; if Sakura didn't make it, Sasuke would have lost almost everything in his life._

_"Don't you dare give up fighting and give in Sakura," Tsunade chanted. "I won't let you go like this." Her fingers were slowly becoming wrinkled and it was spreading up her arms. "You're not going to leave us."_

_She was pouring every ounce of chakra that kept her looking young into saving her daughter's life. Every last drop of chakra was being forced into the almost lifeless body. Naruto went over and placed his hands over Tsunade's, pouring his own chakra into her hands for her to use. His chakra had contributed in reviving Garra of the Hidden Sand village, now he was going to make sure it saved his sister._

* * *

Too many horrible images haunted his mind. Even when he wasn't thinking negative, it would always find a way to pop into his thoughts. Whenever he looked at them, they seem lifeless and at peace, but he knew better than to think that. He had overheard in a conversation between Shizune and Kakashi about them being a coma, Sakura losing something, and Sasuke possibly going blind. Naruto grasped his head in both hands, he felt helpless, lost, and confused.

* * *

_Onyx orbs revealed themselves only to meet endless darkness. He sat up and found himself only wearing simple white clothing. He looked around, but found nothing in the dark abyss surrounding him. He didn't see any sight of pink and wondered if he had passed on while she lived. He stood on his feet and couldn't help fell lonely._

_"You're finally up otouto," a familiar voice said from behind. He quickly turned around and tensed at the sight of man. "There is no need to be alarm Sasuke; you already finished what you had set out to do."_

_Sasuke relaxed slightly. "So we're both dead..."_

_The older male just shook his head as a small smile grazed his lips. "You are very much alive, unconscious though, but alive. You've been out for some time."_

_"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked with narrowed eyes. "If I'm not dead, then why are you here?"_

_"I am here for my own reasons, but I seek an answer from you," Itachi answered. "Though you are alive, you can choose give up on life. Which do you choose otouto?"_

_He didn't know which to pick, but one thing he knew was he wanted to spend his life with his wife. "Is Sakura alive?"_

_Itachi sighed. "Whether she is or isn't, I can't tell you." Sasuke held his hand into a fist. "You know you can live your life without her otouto."_

_"Shut up. I don't want to listen to what you have to say."_

_"You don't need Sakura around in order to live. You have already lived most of your life without her already. Her presence won't make a difference."_

_"SHUT UP ITACHI! YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT MY LIFE!"_

_Itachi closed his eyes. "You have to choose one path Sasuke."_

_The younger Uchiha calmed himself, but it wasn't making it any easier for him to decide. He didn't know which path to choose; he had been out for an amount of time, but he didn't know exactly how long. Sasuke thought back to the chakra barrier that enclosed them in, remembering some things not many were informed off; the barrier will diminish not only when one is alive, but also when those contained within are all on the brink of death or no one survives. Itachi was dead and that left only the couple. Sasuke slightly remembered holding his wife in his arms before he went unconscious, but wasn't clear about her condition. All he knew was she was terribly exhausted and wounded; their offspring possibly gone. He felt pain, but it was more agonizing than the one he felt that night when he was young._

_"I choose to live…" Sasuke answered his brother, hoping he made the right choice._

_Itachi didn't say a word as he become distance and a forked path form in front of the younger brother. One led to Itachi the other leading into a group of people. Slowly the images of the crowded figures began to form and there stood their clan. At the very front stood their parents, their mother standing there with a smile and waiting arms to welcome him._

_"Oka-san…" Sasuke whispered. He took a few steps toward them, but then stopped himself from going any farther. He turned his sadden gaze away. "I can't…"_

_"Why did you stop Sasuke?" his brother asked. "I thought you always wanted to follow the way of our clan. Are you planning to take the path I took?"_

_"I'm not going to follow anyone." Sasuke turned to face Itachi. "The story of our clan ended that night when you murdered everyone and a new one was written from then on. This new story will continue on until the Uchiha clan diminishes completely."_

_Everything disappeared, leaving the two blood brothers alone in darkness. Sasuke stared at his brother, feeling guilty and hurt, but he didn't know why. Itachi began to fade as he walked over to young man, lifting up his left arm. His index and middle finger came forward and poked Sasuke in the middle of the forehead, just like he always did when they were younger._

_"Don't worry too much," Itachi said with a small smile. "I'll take care of her."_

_Sasuke was about to ask Itachi who he as talking about, but he was too late. The older male vanished and a flash of light blinded him. The only thing he saw was a faint image of his wife smiling at him._

* * *

"Sakura…"

Naruto's head jolted up at the hoarse voice. He saw Sasuke's arm slowly moving up to remove the oxygen mask from his face and attempt to sit up at the same time. The blond got up from his seat and pulled the bed end up slightly making it easier for Sasuke.

He knew his eyes were open, but all he saw was darkness. The Uchiha male lifted his right hand up slowly and traced the bandages around his eyes. The moving presence beside him was familiar and right away he knew it was Naruto.

"Shizune-san preformed surgery on your eyes…" was all Naruto said. He didn't have the heart to tell his brother there was a chance he could be going blind. "You've been out for three weeks."

Three weeks have passed since he had killed Itachi and last saw his wife. "Where is Sakura?" Sasuke asked, forcing the words out of his mouth as he turned his head to make it seem like he was looking directly at the blond. "Where is she?"

"Don't worry about her teme. Sakura-chan is fine."

He knew it was a lie from the sound of his voice. "I'm going to repeat myself one last time Naruto," the male said dangerously. "Tell me, where is Sakura?"

Naruto didn't want to answer, he couldn't answer. He didn't know how to explain her condition. A lengthy silence grew between the two until the raven haired man was finally fed up. As weak as his body was, Sasuke grabbed onto the collar of Naruto's shirt.

"Answer me Naruto…" Sasuke hissed.

Naruto shut his eyes when he spoke. "She was dying when we found you two…" Sasuke released his grasp and clenched his hand into a fist. "She had lost a lot of blood…"

Cerulean orbs looked at the face of the young husband and saw the bandages around his eyes were slowly beginning to soak up with crimson liquid. What he was witnessing was scaring him. Without hesitating, Naruto ran to the door and looked for any available nurse or doctor around until he spotted the Godaime herself.

"Tsunade-baa-chan!" Naruto yelled and quickly got everyone's attention. "It's Sasuke-teme!"

Upon hearing the name and the panic behind his voice, Tsunade rushed over. When she entered the room she saw Sasuke sitting up slightly and the blood.

"What happened here Naruto?" she asked as she placed her hand over the bandages. She began to pour chakra into the assumed wound.

"Teme woke up and he wanted to know about Sakura-chan," Naruto answered. "Then I saw blood."

Tsunade gritted her teeth. "Sakura is alive!"

The bandage finally stopped gathering blood and the Godaime removed her blood covered hand. Possibility needing to change the bandages, the blond woman went over to the sink to wash her hands and got a wet cloth and a new roll of gauze. Naruto just watched as the older woman slowly removed the blood soaked bandage. Sasuke sat there, unmoving while he watched the light penetrating though the fabric as each layer was removed. When it was all removed, Tsunade noticed the young man's eyes fading from crimson back to his onyx ones. She would have to note it down later in his medical file for further research of what could have caused the bleeding.

"Do you have a clear vision of things Sasuke?" Tsunade asked.

The Uchiha shifted his eyes slightly, taking in his surroundings, but it was difficult to see through the dry blood. Tsunade gave him the wet rag, allowing him to clean himself. When he caught sight of pink in the corner of his eyes, Sasuke shifted and saw his wife lying in the bed. He yanked out all the needles and equipment attached to him, despite the protesting face of the Godaime. He moved, letting his bare feet touch the ground and attempted to stand up. The moment he placed his weight on his feet, he was slightly unsteady until Naruto helped him. Sasuke flung his arm away from the blond male, indicating him he didn't need or want any help.

The raven haired man slowly walked over to the occupied bed and sat on the edge. His touched her pale hand; though she was alive, she felt cold. He had a feeling something wasn't right, but didn't really know what it was. As weak as he was, Sasuke forced his eyes to change into the crimson color of the Sharingan; he needed to know what it was. His eyes scanned over her slowly, making sure not to miss anything. Her entire body system was normal and he was glad, but when he reached her lower abdomen he saw it. He thought his eyes were deceiving him because of his depleted energy, but after staring for some time, he knew it was real. They saw drops of blood fall upon the white sheets; tears of blood fell from his eyes. There was only one foreign chakra within her; it was weak, but still thriving to survive. He shut his eyes, letting them change back as he held back the pain building up.

The Godaime watched from afar; she knew telling him about their lost wasn't going to make a difference to what had happened. The hurt look in his eyes informed the Godaime that he wanted to be alone with Sakura. She felt sorry she couldn't do much to help after healing her to the best of her abilities. She wanted to talk to Sasuke; she wanted the truth to be exposed to him before he found out on his own and things turn out bad, but knew it had to wait. She left the room in silence, hoping to return later to talk with the young Uchiha. Naruto stood by the two, not wanting to leave. Though they were a family, he felt somewhat alone seeing that Sasuke and Sakura had a stronger bond.

"Has it really been three weeks Naruto?"

The Kyuubi vessel took a seat in the chair he had occupied for days. "Yeah… but Tsunade-baa-chan has been taking care of you and Sakura-chan." He watched Sasuke took her hand in his. "She told me she was keeping you guys healthy, especially Sakura-chan."

Hearing this, the raven haired man was satisfied to know his wife was being taken care of. "Do you know about Sakura's condition Naruto?"

"Know what teme?" the blond asked. "All I know is that Sakura-chan has to be kept very healthy, but Tsunade-baa-chan won't tell my why. I even asked Hinata-chan, but she told me she couldn't tell me."

Sasuke didn't answer and understood that Naruto knew nothing about Sakura's pregnancy. He lifted his free hand and stroked Sakura's cheek gently.

_"I'm sorry for everything I put you through…"_

Another week passed, but Sakura had yet to wake. During the nights, the bed Sasuke had once occupied was given to Naruto to sleep in; he sat at the head of Sakura's bed resting against the wall. Day or night, he barely left her side.

"Teme you need to get out for awhile," Naruto said. "It's early in the evening and there are little people in the streets."

Sasuke didn't say a word and held Sakura's hand in his. He stroked the knuckles of her hand with his thumb gently, over and over. He felt her fingers move ever so slightly. Naruto noticed her fingers move and jumped up from his seat. They watched as Sakura's eyes began to slowly open; her emerald orbs took in her surroundings.

"Sasuke-kun… Naruto…" she said low raspy voice though the oxygen mask.

Naruto had a wide grin on his face. "Team seven is back together again!" the blond bellowed.

"Indeed the team is back together again…"

Naruto and Sasuke turned their attention to the voice and saw the masked Akatsuki member. Though still week, Sakura turned her head slightly and saw the intruder.

"YOU AGAIN!"

The masked man just waved finger that the blond ninja. "You shouldn't be shouting in a hospital."

"How did you get into Konoha undetected?" Naruto asked, getting ready into a fighting stance. "What do you want with us?"

"I'm not here for you, but for them," the sole Akatsuki member said, pointing at the Uchiha family. "I've been waiting for them to both wakeup in order to take them away."

—xXx—

Tsunade was in the office down the hall reading through the medical documents from Sakura's daily checkup. All was healthy, including the one in her womb; she dearly regretted not being able to save the other. She placed all the papers away and closed the file. The moment she stood from her seat, a large bang was heard.

Wasting no time, the Godaime ran out of her office and saw Naruto limp against the wall in front of the room. The dust made it hard to see, but she had a bad feeling something had happen to Sasuke and Sakura. She went over to check on the blond shinobi and was glad to know he was only knocked out with some minor bruising and cuts. She turned her gaze toward the room and saw that the door was destroyed by the impact Naruto was sent through. The beds had been over turned and some of the equipment had been wrecked. The walls and ceiling were crumbling; debris covered the once clean room. The wall where the window was once at was gone and signified the intruder had used it as an escape route. Tsunade entered to look for the two occupants of the recovery room, but didn't see or sense either of them. Whoever kidnapped them had a motive and she knew it wasn't good. She looked at the wall and saw a message that had been burnt into the wall.

_'Konoha will fall and cease to exist.'_

It was a threat message to the village, to her. What she didn't understand was why the couple was targeted and not someone with high authority or value. Shizune rushed in the room and stared flabbergasted that the scene before her.

"I want you to treat Naruto," the Godaime said. The first apprentice of the female sannin went to the out cold ninja without questioning orders. "What the hell is going on…?" Tsunade whispered to herself.

* * *

The dark cave was musky and the only light came from the single lantern that hung in the middle of the room. It was just enough to light the round cavern, but what lay beyond in the only possible exit was unknown. There were a few crates stacked in twos; one had some used medical supplies on top. At the far end of the room was an occupied futon. There laid the couple that had been abducted not too long ago.

The uncomfortable environment and her pained body made her come to her senses. She opened her eyes and took in the image of the dark surrounding; Sakura had a bad feeling about the place. Her body was weak in her current state, but she forced herself to sit up despite the pain. Her emerald orbs scanned the room again and spotted her husband close by. Sasuke moved closer to him and shook his shoulder. His eyes opened slowly when he felt someone nudging his shoulder. Onyx orbs shifted over and spotted the person that had awakened him. Sasuke sat up and rubbed his temples, his head was throbbing and all he remembered was being in the hospital before the masked Akatsuki member appeared.

"Where do you think we're at Sasuke-kun?"

He didn't answer her question. "Can you walk?" he asked her as he stood up.

She did her best to stand in attempt to get her numb legs to hold her up. Sasuke helped her up on her feet and provided support for her first few steps until she was steady on her own. He knew they weren't fully recovered yet, but they needed to escape even though it would take them longer. He grabbed her hand and headed toward the darkness that would lead them out.

"Gomen Sasuke," a voice said. "I can't let you or your wife leave." As the masked man came into the light, Sasuke stepped forward, his body shielding Sakura's form. "The truth needs to be told to the both of you." Sasuke stood in a fighting stance knowing very well that he had a disadvantage. "We've met once before as enemies, but I am no longer your foe." Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the man. "I brought the two of you here to tell you something important."

"Sasuke-kun…" the pink haired woman whispered. "Do you think we can trust what he just said?"

The masked man heard her comment and chuckled. "Let me start by introducing who I really am… I have been known as Tobi…" He placed his hand over the mask and began to slide it off. "Like you Sasuke, I'm a living, breathing Uchiha."

The moment Tobi's right Sharingan eye was clearly visible, Sasuke's left eye changed from onyx to crimson. Slowly blood began to drip from the socket as the pattern of the eye changed. Sakura noticed the surprised look on the Akatsuki member's face and came around to look at Sasuke. Sakura's eyes widen at the sight of the blood; she knew right away it had to with Sharingan pattern that was forming. She turned her gaze at the man before them and saw the flames upon Tobi. The blazing flame began to spread quickly and he knew the source of it was coming from Sasuke. In order to stop the flames from engulfing him completely, Tobi fled into the darkness that would shield him from Sasuke's eye.

A sudden shot of pain flooded his eye and Sasuke placed his hand over the socket; his breath was hasten, perspiration formed on his forehead, and his body slightly shaking. Sakura placed her hand over his to slowly remove his hand away to look at the damage. He was hesitant to let her examine him; Sasuke knew it wasn't normal and was afraid of hurting Sakura. His sole onyx orb glance at her worried face; she was a medic no matter what situation they were in. He let his hand slid down his face as she placed her fingers around his eye socket and poured a tiny amount of chakra into the wound in hopes it would be enough to heal him. It was all she could do after just waking up from a long recovery. Sakura watched as the pattern of the Mangekyou changed into the Sharingan's original form before fading away.

"Something is wrong with your eye," she whispered, wiping his blood away with the sleeve of her shirt.

Sasuke glared into the darkness. "You know something about this, don't you?"

"Yes," he answered in slight pain. "Itachi implanted the power of Amaterasu in you." Tobi reached his arm out and grabbed the mask. He placed it back on in the cover of darkness. "Even after death, he never ceases to amaze me."

He guided his wife to stand behind him once again. "What are you saying?"

Tobi stepped out of the darkness. "Itachi equipped you with his own jutsu, as a last effort to kill me," he said walking slowly over to the couple. "Or perhaps his intentions were to simply keep me away from the two of you, especially you Sasuke." Both were confused about what the man just said. "I assume he set thing up so the sight of my Sharingan would automatically trigger the Amaterasu power with you to activate."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sasuke said. "Nor do I have any interest in what you have to say."

"Let me put it this way," Tobi said. "Itachi did something to you just before he died right?" Sasuke's eyes widen; Sakura notice his body tense at the question and stood at his side. "Somehow at the last second, he transferred all his techniques into you."

"Why would Itachi do that when he tried to kill Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked.

He stopped a few feet before the two. "So you still don't know the whole truth? I expected Tsunade to tell you something Sasuke."

"Give me a good reason why Itachi would give me his power."

"To protect you."

His answer rang in his mind. Sasuke stared at the man in disbelief. "To protect me? Is that supposed to be funny?"

"You knew so much about your brother, yet you knew nothing at all Sasuke. I know everything there is to know about Uchiha Itachi." A sigh came out from behind his mask. "I know what I am saying is a shock, but I assure you I speak the truth. I know during your battle against Itachi you asked about the person that helped him that night." Sasuke waited for an answer. "I was the one that helped him. Uchiha Madara."

Sakura was confused more than ever; she had no clue about what had happen during Sasuke battle and now this piece of shocking information was revealed to them.

"I've heard enough of your bullshit!" Sasuke yelled with his fist clenched. "Go away and never come near neither Sakura nor me. I will kill you if you do."

"Just listen to what I have to say first before you go on saying that Sasuke," Madara said. "You need to hear the truth about your brother. After you hear Itachi's story, I assure you Sasuke that you will change your mind."

"To protect me?" He was staring down at the dirt ground. "The truth about Itachi?" Sakura was getting worried; she had never seen Sasuke in his current state before. He was battling his mind, trying to maintain every ounce of control he had. "Itachi is nothing more than a traitor to the Uchiha clan!"

"Think back to your childhood," Madara said. "Remember Itachi, remember your kind big brother…"

Sasuke grabbed his head with both his hands as images of his past flooded his mind. "He tried to kill me…" Sakura held onto his wrist to try to get him to focus his mind, but it wasn't doing any good. "He tried to steal my eyes…" He began to cough violently; Sakura tried her best to help him, but the mind-blowing information was affecting him greatly. Madara walked toward Sasuke and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't touch me!"

The raven haired man pushed the older man away before he fell to his knees. Sakura wrapped her arms around his shacking form; she knew he was in pain, but couldn't do anything to help. More images of his childhood past flooded his mind; every smile, every bonding moment between him and Itachi was hitting him hard. Right before Sasuke blacked out, the final image he saw of Itachi was toward the end of their battle; right before Itachi poked him on the forehead. She tried to get Sasuke to wake, but he was unconscious and would have to rest.

"Don't worry Sakura." Sakura looked up at the man only to be caught in a trance the moment she saw his Sharingan eye. Slowly her vision began to blur as her body sway to the ground. "You will find out the truth as well."

* * *

Tsunade sat in the destroyed hospital room, staring at the message that had been written. First Danzou tried to destroy the village in attempt to over throw her of her position and now an unknown enemy has made a threat against Konoha. She couldn't send any ninjas out to investigate when she herself didn't know who the enemy was. Assuming that it was one of the foreign villages would cause trouble and eventually a war could occur. What bothered her even more was that she knew Sasuke and Sakura had been kidnapped for a purpose. She was aware it has to do something with their past, but couldn't point her finger blindly at just anyone.

A day had already passed since the kidnapping and there weren't any ransoms of any kind. Kakashi and Naruto had left the village not too long ago with a small team in search of the two. All she was able to do was wait for them to report with some good news.

"You shouldn't stay in this room Tsunade," a male voice said. She looked over and saw the white haired man in a wheelchair by the door. "You're getting even more depressed just being here."

She turned her gaze back at the writing on the wall. "I'm trying to piece together everything. Whoever did this knows about the truth and holds a grudge against Konoha. Sasuke was set on revenge when Itachi killed the clan," she said. "If he is told the truth he may want revenge upon the village. Sakura would turn a blind eye toward us and follow Sasuke."

"You really think they would go that far?"

"With a twist of words, yes it is possible." She sighed heavily. "I hope Kakashi and Naruto will get to them in time to restrain Sasuke if need it be."

* * *

He kept a close watch on them after releasing them from the ropes he had tied around them. When they had finally awoken, he told them what the needed to know. Madara had restored their erased memories after telling them about the arrangement that had gone on when they were young before continuing to tell them about Itachi. He had started from the very beginning, telling the things in chronological order of when it all occurred. Sasuke sat in complete disbelief, his eyes staring blankly at the ground before him. He had listened to what Madara had to say, but it didn't sink in. Sakura was more confused than ever; her legs were against her chest, her hands clenching her head as she tried to absorb the memories.

"Do you believe me now?" Madara asked. "I've restored the memories that were erased and told you the truth about Itachi." Sasuke looked at the man. "Itachi used the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan on Sakura in hopes it would strengthen her mind so those memories wouldn't be unlocked, but also to make you stronger Sasuke."

The raven haired man clenches his fist. "Why did you have to tell us this?" Sasuke asked. "We could have lived our life despite the illusion." He stood on his feet without any trouble. "I could have put everything behind me and move on." Sakura felt something large slither around her body and saw the serpent wrapping around her; immediately she knew what Sasuke was planning. "Even if it met living a lie, I didn't need to know this!"

Sasuke rushed toward Madara, the fingers of his right hand touching the seal upon his left wrist. Sakura quickly stood up to rush over to stop her husband, but the large reptile quickly engulfed her in darkness before she could even take a step.

"Sasuke-kun!" she yelled, pounding against the rough scales. "Onegai Sasuke-kun! Don't fight any more!"

She heard the sound of metal clashing against each other before it became faint and distant. When everything became silent, she feared the worse. When the snake began to unwrap, the sunlight shined brightly against her pale body. Before she could ask the serpent and thing, it was gone, leaving her alone in the forest. Sakura focused her chakra to search for Sasuke and suddenly sensed one presence missing within her. She didn't believe it and used her chakra to make sure it was true. She felt one, but couldn't find the other.

"No…" She stopped her chakra. "It can't be…"

Sakura felt broken, she had lost so much and now she feared of losing Sasuke. She focused her chakra once again and searched for any strong chakra presence, but instead found several approaching her. The chakra signature was somewhat familiar, but she couldn't figure out whom they belonged to. When she finally found two strong chakras, one belonging to her husband, she ran as fast as she could in the direction it was in.

Through as weak as she was, she forced herself to run. If the opponent Sasuke was fighting really was Madara, she knew Sasuke wouldn't be able to last very long, especially at his current state. She wasn't going to give up even though it was hopeless for her to do anything against Madara. Being a true master of the Sharingan eye, there wasn't an ability Sasuke could use that would benefit him against the man that has lived passed his generation.

"Sakura-chan!" She heard his voice but kept on moving forward; she didn't know whether to trust them anymore. "Sakura-chan!"

They were getting closer and she didn't have the energy to out run them. Sakura felt someone grab her wrist, preventing her from going on. She turned around and saw the blond male, relieved that she was all right. Her emerald eyes showed signs of fright and anger as she jerked her hand back and continued running. Suddenly Kakashi appeared in front of her grabbing onto her shoulders gently.

"It's only us Sakura."

Naruto and the rest of the team were at a distance, allowing Kakashi to calm the young woman. If the blond couldn't reason with her, he would be the last resort.

Sakura pushed him away, stepping back a few steps. "You knew about this, didn't you Kakashi-sensei?" Tears were gathering in her eyes. "You knew the secrets that were kept from us and our lost."

Kakashi pull down his headband to cover the Sharingan orb, his other eye sadden at her. "I had learned about it not too long ago." He saw the dried blood on her sleeve and feared she was injured. "Onegai Sakura, return to Konoha; I won't let them harm you.

She held her head in her hands. "Why did they have to lie to us?" His visible eye held sorrow. "Why did they have to do this to us?" She couldn't stand the pain and ran from them.

Kakashi went after her; he wouldn't forgive himself if something happened to her when Sasuke wasn't around. Having trained her when she first became a genins and treated her as his own, he couldn't let her go off risking her life, especially when she was risking more than her own. Naruto saw Sakura run off again and went after them this time. The silver haired man caught up to her in no time and grabbed onto her shoulder to stop her.

"We're here to help Sakura."

"Let go of me," she yelled. "You can't do anything to help." She tried to shake off his hold on her. "Sasuke-kun will die if I don't help him."

"Where is Sasuke?"

Naruto stopped beside the man. "I'll go help him Sakura-chan."

"Just let me go help him," she begged as she continued to escape the hold of her fatherly figure. "Sasuke-kun can't fight him on his own!" Tears were slowly falling down her cheeks. "He's too strong."

Sakura used a bit of her chakra to pull away from the shinobi. Quickly turning around on her heal, she was about to take a step until she felt the pressure on her back of her neck; her vision blurred as she swayed forward.

Kakashi caught her limp body. "Gomen Sakura."

"Kakashi-sensei!"

"I didn't have any other choice Naruto," he said. "Sakura is pregnant. She has already lost one unborn child and won't be able to live with the trauma of losing another." He lifted the frail woman up in his arms. "Sasuke is fighting someone and based on assumptions, this person is probably the same one that kidnapped them."

Naruto was off in a flash; his mind set giving the Akatsuki member a piece of his mind. After hearing what Sakura had said, he was set on fighting alongside Sasuke to beat the man. Kakashi turned his attention to the team.

"Neji." The said man came forth. "Take Sakura directly to Tsunade-sama." The silver haired man handed the young woman in his arms over.

"Should I be expecting some kind of trouble on my way back?" the young man asked.

"If you do, they may be set on capturing Sakura," Kakashi answered. "Hinata, I want you to accompany him. Don't stop until you reach the Godaime."

With the needed instructions given, the two Hyuuga clan members were off. Kakashi lifted up his headband revealing his Sharingan orb and turned his gaze over to his junior.

"Are you prepared to restrain the Kyuubi at any moment?" he asked.

Yamato looked at the palm of his hand and read the number. "Looks like it begins now."

Their surrounding began to blur and the enormous amount of chakra engulfed them. They both knew that it was genjutsu and breaking out of it wasn't going to be easy.

* * *

Naruto was sent flying through the forest and finally hit a large tree. He staggered to stand up as red chakra began to surround him even more. Sasuke stood not too far on a separate branch; the sleeves of the shirt he wore were torn and stained with blood. The corners of his lips were stained with dried blood. He was slightly relieved to have Naruto's aid, even though he wanted to defeat Madara on his own. If the blond knucklehead didn't appear, Sasuke would probably be dead. His Sharingan orbs had a different pattern to them and were spinning slowing as he stared at the enemy before them.

"It looks like the Kyuubi is beginning to take form," Madara said. "Shall we see which one of us is the better wielder of the Sharingan Sasuke?"

Sasuke turned his gaze over toward Naruto and knew it wasn't good when he saw six tails and a skeleton form. If what Madara said about being able to control the Kyuubi was true, he had get to Naruto fast. He entered in, but encountered the other Sharingan user. With very little strength to withstand the man's powers, Sasuke was forced out of Naruto's mind.

"Open your eyes Sasuke," Madara said kicking Sasuke off the branch. "You don't possess the power to destroy me." Sasuke touched the seal on his wrist, drawing out numerous shurikens and tossing them at Madara. "Your toys and jutsus are no match for my Sharingan."

Sasuke landed on a branch below and looked back at Naruto; the blond was completely consumed in shadow and the skeleton of the demon was in full form. He needed to restrain the Kyuubi complete, but Madara would block him off from doing so. Quickly performing several hand signs, he forced the earth and trees around him to restrain the demon body, hoping it would buy him sometime.

"That won't hold him for very long Sasuke," Madara said.

Sasuke turned around and dodged an incoming attack, avoiding the kunai blade from cutting this throat. He grabbed hold of the man's right arm, drawing him down and locked his leg with Madara's to keep him from getting away; a kunai emerged from his right wrist and into his waiting hand. Wasting no time, Sasuke stabbed the kunai into the neck of his enemy, but the blade only faded through Madara's body like thin air.

Taking a quick side step, Madara brought Sasuke down to his knees and stabbed a kunai into his back. Cringing in pain, Sasuke turned around in attempts to wound the man, but Madara jumped away. Sasuke pulled the kunai from his back and slumped against the tree he was on. He turned his gaze over to the prison created from the elements of earth and saw it was beginning to crack. Suddenly the head of the Kyuubi emerged, almost in its complete form. Eight tails emerged out from the side and trashed violently.

"It looks like I will get my chance in destroying Konoha after all," Madara said from above.

Sasuke looked up at the man then launched himself up to attack. Right before they clashed blades, Madara noticed the pattern of Sasuke's Sharingan was different. Metal clashed against each other as they continued to fight. Madara grabbed Sasuke's right arm and stabbed a kunai into his shoulder. With his arm muscles weaken from the blood lost he couldn't grip the kunai tight enough to fight. Sasuke staggered a few sets back as he gripped his bleeding shoulder; he tore the sleeve of the shirt he wore and quickly tided it tightly around the wound in hopes it would slow or stop the bleeding.

"Join my cause Sasuke and have your life spared," Madara said. "Take the life of power and live an immortal life."

Sasuke glared at his opponent. "I rather die in the burning flames of Amaterasu than join you."

In a flash Madara had his hand wrapped around Sasuke's throat. "I can arrange your death for you."

He tried to pray the arm away as he was lifted up, attempting to catch every breath he could get. He needed to get Naruto out of the trance and in control of the Kyuubi. Concentrating his chakra, Sasuke let the blue lightning surround his body and forced Madara to release his grip slightly.

"NARUTO!"

* * *

Kakashi and Yamato were jumping through the forest, avoiding the manipulation of the trees created by the genjutsu they were trapped in. They tried different methods of getting out, but it was useless. There was only one way to break the powerful illusion, but the problem was Kakashi couldn't concentrate while avoiding death. Yamato looked at the palm of his right hand and saw the number eight.

"Senpai! The Kyuubi has released eight of its tails!"

The silver haired man cursed. "Cover me Yamato. I'll try to break the illusion."

Yamato jumped toward his senior and guarded him as Kakashi concentrated his chakra into the power of his crimson orb. The young shinobi took a quick glance at his palm and his eyes widen.

* * *

_His mind and body was in a trance as he walked toward the sealed gates. It was calling out to him and controlling him._

**_"Come here... pull this seal off."_**

_Naruto's hand reached for the seal and grabbed hold of it. He was about to pull it off until a hand stopped him. In a flash he as carried up and away from the gates that encaged the demon._

**_"YOU!"_**

_Naruto snapped out of the trance he was in and saw the blond man that had prevented him from making a grave mistake. He remembered seeing a picture of the man standing before him; the long haori he wore was something he would never forget._

_"The seal is set so that if eight tails are released, I'll appear within your consciousness." A sigh escaped his lips as he looked at the demon. "I didn't want that to happen… I never wanted to see you again Kyuubi…" The older man turned to face Naruto with a grin. "But I looked forward to seeing how my son had grown… so I guess you can call it even."_

**_"Yondaime! Come here! I'll rip you to shreds!"_**

_"Saying you're going to rip me to shreds isn't going to make me come closer. It's just going to make me go the opposite, right Naruto?"_

_"…That's my name… but how…"_

_"Because I gave you the name, of course. You're my heir after all, the son of Namikaze Minato."_

_Naruto had a hard time adsorbing the information. "Heir… then you mean…"_

_"Yup, like I said, you're my son."_

_Those words echoed in his mind; he had a parent, an actual father. Slowly a smile formed across his lips as tears gathered in his eyes._

**_"Yondaime!"_**

_"He sure is noisy. Let's go talk somewhere else." With a snap, they were in a vast white surrounding. "I guess the Sandaime didn't tell you anything. He probably wanted to keep everything about the Kyuubi a secret assuming that if people knew you were my son there would be trouble. I'm truly sorry Naruto."_

_Naruto rubbed his eyes with his sleeve. "Tou-san…" It felt foreign saying those words. The young man punched the Yondaime right in the gut. "Do you know how much trouble it has caused me?" Minato cringed in pain as he listened to what his son had to say. "Why did you have to seal the demon in your own son? I don't know whether I'm happy or pissed off!"_

_Minato watched as tears fell from his son's eyes. "It must have been hard Naruto… I'm sorry… I've done nothing but caused you trouble…" Naruto wiped his tears. "So maybe I shouldn't try to act like your father now when I'm apologizing."_

_"It's okay… I'm the son of the Yondaime Hokage… so I can deal with it."_

_The Yondaime grinned at his son. "I better make this quick if you want to save your brother."_

* * *

His feet were dangling several inches off the ground as he tried to pry off the squeezing hand around his neck. Every breath Sasuke was able to get only resulted in having his throat clutched tighter. He knew he couldn't stay conscious for much longer and his efforts in getting free were futile; his right arm was weakening and numb. He didn't have much chakra left and using a special technique to escape the clutches of the man before him would only lead to his death. He needed Naruto's help in order to defeat the powerful Sharingan user.

"I'm giving you one last chance to join me Sasuke," Madara said loosening his grip slightly, allowing the man to speak.

A smirk made its way across Sasuke's lips. "Only in your dreams."

Sasuke's body began to dissolve and the tree absorbed the liquid. Madara turned around and came in contact with a large wind shuriken. Unable to have the attack faze through him, he had no other choice but to avoid it like any normal ninja. Though the attack was evaded the wind was able to slice off the right sleeve of the cloak and leave a small gash on the man's arm.

"We got you now!"

Madara look over in the direction where the voice came from and there stood Naruto. A unique feature surrounded those cerulean eyes and the chakra gathered around him was different from normal chakra. His arms were crossed over his chest as he stared at the masked man with a grin on his face. Sasuke began to emerge from the branch the blond was standing on; he was slightly soaked with water dripping from his body.

"You better have a plan dobe," Sasuke said as he tried to catch his breath. "That technique cost me most of my chakra."

"We only have one chance at this then teme." Naruto created dozens of his clones and had them surround the enemy. "It's all or nothing."

The clones began to attack Madara in all directions. His sight was covered completely by the clones as he continued to dodge and faze through their attacks. His Sharingan eye could only spot the chakra's belonging to the clones, he couldn't see through in order to find Sasuke. When he saw a number of clones being demolished, he turned around and saw a large wind shuriken headed straight for him. He ducked down letting the wind blade fly pass him, but another wind shuriken was in its shadow. Madara jumped between the two weapons, avoiding the deadly technique.

As has passed through, Madara noticed the clear thin wires being enveloped by the chakra in the center of the wind shuriken. His eye followed the wires and saw them ending in front of Sasuke who was performing several hand signs. Inhaling deeply, the young Uchiha blew out fire and let the flames travel down the wires. Madara watched the red orange flames traveling toward him turned black. He quickly got out of the way the moment the two wind shurikens passed him, but his cloak caught the black flames. He disposed the cloak before the flames spread and consumed him.

Naruto's clones went on the attack again; they were the only means of distraction for the two brothers to strategize an attack against Madara. Each time a clone was disposed, another was created in its place. An unusual chirping noise met his ears as he continued to fight off the clones. He knew they were coming in for a final attack when he felt surges of chakra coming from two directions; one was stronger than the other.

"Rasengan!"

Suddenly Naruto appeared with the ball of whirling chakra in his left hand aimed directly at Madara's chest. The older Uchiha jumped up from the branch to avoid the attack only to encounter something deadly that he couldn't dodge or faze through. Sasuke's Chidori and Naruto's Rasengan were merged together as the two came attacking. The combined attack was a direct hit, causing critical damage compared when used individually.

Madara was sent flying backward with a large wound in his chest. The other two shinobi landed on a branch not too far from where the enemy was; both were breathing heavily. Naruto slumped forward, his body exhausted and deprived from chakra after creating so man clones and using his ultimate attack several times. He didn't have any solider pills and his body was tired from the beating he had received previously.

Though they got a direct hit, they needed to wait for the dusk to clear in order to see if their attack really worked out. The masked man staggered to stand; to think they actually found a way to wound him and cause serious damage. Sasuke's crimson orbs narrowed at the sight; Madara was supposed to be immobile or dead after being hit. Despite the fact he was bleeding profoundly with some permanent nerve damage, Madara preceded one as if he was invincible.

When the last Akatsuki member was back on his feet he looked over at the two ninjas; the orange mask he wore was crumbling into pieces. The moment his right Sharingan eye was visible, Sasuke's Amaterasu was triggered; blood began to drip out the corner of his eye as it controlled the gift Itachi had given to him. Knowing the consequences from using the technique, Sasuke could only care less as he forced the flames to blaze. The young Uchiha created a burrier to conceal any possible escape route to prevent Madara from leaving his sight. Screams of agonizing pain were heard through the forest as the black flames burn.

Naruto watched as Sasuke pushed himself to the limit; he hoped this was the end of their battle as his eyes began to shut on him. The flames of Amaterasu diminished when nothing was left for it to burn. With the last of his chakra, Sasuke made several hand signs for the earth to sallow the ashes. Crimson orbs changed back to onyx; he was finally done fighting.

Sasuke's tired body swayed forward, falling off the branch. He felt himself being caught by a recognizable chakra signature and heard a few words before he went unconscious.

_"Let's get you home…"_

* * *

Special appreciation to my great buddy: animequeen100!

**Hello again to all! Again, sorry for not updating sooner. Thanks to all of those that reviewed. I think I scared a lot of people with the WHAT IF scenario in the previous chapter and make people think it was the end of the story. There are probably many mistakes throughout the entire chapter. I my battle scene could have been better, but I rushed to finish this chapter. If there are any questions, ask away when reviewing; I shall try to answer every question.**

**There will be either one or two more chapters left before this story comes to an end. I may make a sequel or just include in an epilogue chapter; please review our thoughts about this.**

**Please Review! It is always greatly appreciated!**


	32. Chap 32: Moving On

**Hello readers. Sorry for the late update. Please enjoy this short chapter.**

**I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

Chapter 32: Moving On

Her body was tired as her mind tried to process within the darkness. She heard two familiar voices speaking while her mind slowly regained consciousness.

"_Has a trail date been set?"_

"_It has… but whether the facts we have will be put into consideration depends on our choice of words toward the council."_

"_The council leans more toward their views, it will be difficult to persuade them."_

"_Yes and the only way to avoid punishment is for them to leave the village forever."_

Her body was coming back to its senses as her mind became fully conscious once again. Emerald orbs stared up at the ceiling when they were revealed; her head hurt and she was slightly dizzy despite lying down. Drinking in her surrounding, she was unsure about where she was until the familiar smell of the hospital reached her nose. She looked over at her left arm and found a needle inserted that was connected to an intravenous drip. She rubbed her temples, trying to remember what happened and felt her forehead was wrapped in a thin layer of bandages. She felt trapped in a daze as if she was in a dream. She closed her eyes and an image of one particular person came to her. She sat up suddenly, but it didn't do her any good has her headache got worse. She held her head in her right hand as she bit into her lower lips to endure the pain.

"You should be lying down and resting." The young woman turned her head and saw the silver haired ninja walking in with a cup containing steaming liquid. He walked over to her bed and sat on the side, handing the mug to the young woman. "Drink this Sakura, it will make you feel better."

The pink haired woman hesitantly took the mug with her trembling hands; he had noticed it even though she tried to conceal it. Kakashi adjusted the bed, allowing his student to rest her back against the soft cushion. She stared into the searing liquid, hesitant about drinking it. She had a feeling the drink was drugged with some sleeping power to force her rest, but she pushed the idea aside. Bringing it up to her lips, Sakura let the liquid wet her lips before letting it enter her mouth. She slowly sipped the drink; her eyes were staring blankly down at the hospital sheet. It was silent, not a word was exchanged between the two. After drinking some, she handed the cup back to the sliver haired ninja. She did feel slightly better after consuming some of the liquid. He took it and placed it on the table by the bed. Afterwards, Kakashi headed out the door without saying a word to the young woman.

Sakura gathered a small amount of chakra into her hand and touched her currently flat abdomen. Her lips formed a tiny smile; she felt the tiny chakra within her and then remembered having miscarriage one of her babies. She ceased the chakra to her hand; it was her first lost as a mother and she hoped it would be her last. Tears gathered in her eyes and threatened to fall. She blamed herself for what happened; she felt she was the only one at fault. She wondered if Sasuke knew about her miscarrying one of the lives they had created. If he didn't, she didn't know how she was going to break the news to him. The worse case scenario popped into her head and that was Sasuke despising her for killing their child and tossing her aside as if she was trash. She knew he wouldn't be like that, but the idea of it was in her mind.

She heard footsteps coming and quickly whipped her tears; she wasn't going to allow anyone to see her cry. Kakashi entered in again, this time with a tray of food. He brought the table in front of her and placed a bowl of steaming noodle soup in front of her. Sakura stared at the food in front of her blankly, she didn't feel like eating, not even a bite.

"I know you may not have an appetite," he said as if he read her mind. "But the little one inside you needs the nourishment."

He was right and she knew it. The life growing within her relied on her to live and she wasn't going to lose another. Her hands reached for the pair of chopsticks and spoon, but they were trembling a little too much. Seeing the trouble she was having, Kakashi picked up the two utensils to feed her. Sakura slowly ate her meal; she felt useless for having to be feed, especially at her age. He didn't think of her as a burden; the silver haired ninja saw this more as an opportunity to bond with his daughter. It was like a father taking care of his sick little girl without the laughter and joking around. A small smile was hidden behind the mask; he was glad she was eating and not depriving herself or the little one. When three quarters of the food was consumed, Sakura stated she was full. He placed tray outside the door before turning his attention back to her.

"Get some rest now Sakura," Kakashi said. "I'll be here if you need anything."

"Where is Sasuke-kun?" she asked.

Her emerald eyes were pleading him to tell her. His sole visible eye saw her hand clench the blanket and all he could do was sigh. He was the one that knocked her out and he felt guilty for doing so, but it was for her safety. The least he could do to replay her was to let her see the raven haired man.

"Would you like me to get a wheelchair?" She shook her head, refusing his offer. "Do you have the energy to stand and walk?" Kakashi received a nod. "Come with me Sakura."

She got off the bed slowly and stood on her feet, holding onto the side of the bed for temporary support. Kakashi's sole visible eye watched her; if she were to stump, he would carry her. He knew the pink haired woman didn't want to be a burden and wanted to stand on her own. He was proud of her in more ways than one. She stayed there for a moment then removed the needle in her arm before slowly walking out of the room to follow her fatherly figure. They took their time walking to the end of the hallway to the last door; her bare feet felt cold against the tile floor. Sakura heard muffled noises coming from the room, but couldn't really make out what was being said.

Kakashi sighed when he stood in front of the door; Naruto was causing a fuss in there. He slid the door open slowly and she saw the two occupants sitting up on their propped up beds. They were both bandaged up, but the one at the farthest end of the room had bandages over his eyes as well.

"I'm going crazy from this silence teme!"

"Then get out."

"Hell no. You get out teme!"

"Shut up dobe."

"Oy teme, you're going to have a kid with Sakura-chan right?" Kakashi noticed Sakura's body tense; she hadn't gotten over the fact she had lost one of her babies. "That mean I get to be called oji-san!"

"Hn."

"I bet you jumped on every opportunity to have sex with Sakura-chan teme. You two must have been at it like-" Sasuke tossed an orange at the blonde's head before he could finish his sentence, but Naruto dodged it. Even without his sight, he was still capable of aiming. Sakura's cheeks were slightly flushed from embarrassment. "What was that for teme?"

"Shut it dobe."

He turned his head toward the door; tough he couldn't see, he sensed the familiar chakra and knew whom it belonged to.

"It wouldn't kill you to talk to me! And I mean actual sentences!" The other occupant continued to yell, unaware that they were being visited. "How do you plan to make Sakura-chan happy when you don't even talk?"

"Shut up dobe."

"Is that all you will say to me teme?"

"Naruto this is a hospital." The said blond turned his head to the door and saw the two visitors. "You are in the recovery room to rest so keep your voice down."

The blond crossed his arms over his chest and mumbled his complains about the hospital rules and being stuck with Sasuke as his roommate. Kakashi shifted his eye and saw Sakura staring down at the floor; she was hesitant and scared of approaching Sasuke. His sole visible orb looked over at the young man and saw that he was facing them, like his eyes were looking at the young woman beside him. He knew they needed some privacy, but the person interrupting them was still in the room.

"Why don't you get out of bed and come with me for a moment Naruto."

"Nani?" Naruto yelled out. "First you want me to shut up and now you want me to leave!"

"I'll treat you to ramen."

The Kyuubi vessel was up in a flash, limping out of the room as fast as he could. Kakashi gently pushed Sakura into the room. She looked back at the man and he gave her a reassuring look, informing her that they wouldn't be disturbed for some amount of time. She mouthed her thanks to the man before he closed the door.

Sakura turned her emerald eyes to focus on the other occupant in the room. She walked over to his bedside slowly and his invisible gaze followed her across the room. She stood before him, afraid to approach any closer; he faced her as if he was looking at her directly. She at on the bedside and lifted her hands to cup his face. Her slender fingers ran up his cheek to the white bandage wrapped around his eyes. A small sad smile appeared on her lips. His right hand touched her thigh and trailed up to her abdomen. She tensed at his touch and he noticed; she knew. She removed her hands from his face and placed them over his gently.

"Sasuke-kun… we… I…"

She didn't know how she was supposed to tell him, but he knew what she was trying to say.

"I know Sakura."

His voice was clam even though his heart was filled with grief. Unable to hold back anymore, Sakura leaned into his body for comfort; her tears fell freely as she gripped onto the hospital shirt he wore. He felt little pain when she pressed herself closer to him, but ignored it. Sasuke wrapped his arms around her shaking figure, allowing her to cry out her grief.

"I tried," she whimpered. "I did everything I could."

She buried her face into his shirt. He held her close, allowing her tears to soak up into his shirt. Sasuke brought her onto his bedside so she lay beside him. The sound of her muffled sob depressed him. Even though he knew the reason for her tears, he couldn't stop them from falling. Her bundled up tears had to be released before it became a burden to her body.

Sasuke held her close. "What happened isn't your fault," he whispered to her.

His words only made her sob louder; she was crying for the both of them. Though his words were true, she couldn't wash away the guilt she felt. Sasuke didn't blame her for what had happened; he thought he should be the one feeling guilty. He couldn't help think it was faith for things to happen the way they did. His battle with Itachi ended with him being the victor, but the victory wasn't worth it at all. Though Sakura wasn't in the crossfire of their battle, in the end she had suffered on his behalf.

"The truth and lies hurt…"

He knew she was talking about their past and about Itachi. Sasuke didn't say a word back to her and continued to hold her trembling body. His conscience bothered him about Itachi. His mind was still trying to process the idea of this brother was possibly innocent like Mandara had said. Though he kept telling himself it was a lie, a part of him thought it was the truth. Sasuke didn't know what to believe anymore. The only ones he could trust were himself and Sakura.

Time flew by slowly and the only sound in the room was the muffled cried coming from his pink haired wife. His hand ran slowly up and down her back, trying to sooth her. To know that they had been living a lie was painful, but having a life they had created taken away from them was agonizing. They didn't get a chance to meet the child, to share a life with it.

"_Don't worry yourself too much, I'll take care of her."_

Those words played in his head until it finally soaked in. He didn't want to believe them, but as he heard it over and over again in his mind, it begun to make sense. Sasuke understood their meaning behind his brother's words. He was going to take care of the little girl, the little girl that was once in Sakura's womb. Maybe Itachi was innocent after all.

Sakura had begun to quiet down a bit. He shifted slightly; his left arm was wrapped around her body as he touched her cheek gently with his other hand. He whipped away the tears that stained her cheeks. Her slowed breathing indicated she had fallen asleep despite the occasional sniff he heard. He leaned back onto the bed and ran his free hand over the bandages across his eyes.

"_Forgive me otouto…"_

* * *

Tsunade sat behind her large desk staring down at the autopsy report Shizune had brought to her and the report she had written. Itachi didn't die in the hands of Sasuke; his death was from illness. To think someone as young as Itachi didn't die in battle but from illness that had plagued his body for years. She didn't know whether this bit of news would either anger or relieve Sasuke from his pain once she had told them the truth. She had compared the conditions of the eyes of both brothers saw the damage that was caused. During the period when Sasuke was unconscious, she had worked on Itachi's eyes in secrecy and attempted to revive the most important attribute of Uchiha clan. His body was placed under a special jutsu to prevent the body from decaying. After days of sleepless nights, Tsunade had found a solution.

When Sasuke was brought back after his harsh battle with the final Akatsuki member, he was wheeled straight into the operation room. Though without his approval, Tsuande switched out Sasuke's eyes and placed the revive eyes of Itachi in him. She had yet to know the results of whether it worked or not. She had to wait for tomorrow to remove the bandages to know if her efforts didn't go to waste. The only thing that bothered her the most was how she was going to inform Sasuke about it.

A tired sigh escaped her lips as she stacked away the papers into a folder. Standing from her seat, the Hokage turned to look out into the village, the very village her grandfather had built up. If only he knew the troubles that were occurring now. Tsunade turned around and exited her office; she wanted to get the truth out. The secrets have been hanging on her for too long that it was time they knew. The moment she stepped out of her office, she knew something wasn't right.

The chakra she felt was unbelievable, but the over powering feeling it send out was dangerous and demonic like. Thinking only of the village's safety, she headed toward it. The trail led her to the doors of the elder's conference room. Without any hesitation, Tsunade pushed opened the doors and encountered a horrific scene. Sitting still on the large chair was the lifeless body of Utatane Koharu, but behind her were freshly spilled blood drippings down the wall.

"Tsunade-sama!"

The Hokage turned her back against the scene before her to face the person that had just called her. There stood a panting ANBU member with some minor injuries. She could tell he was low in chakra and had pushed himself to find her.

"Up on the roof top…" he panted.

She caught the limp body of the shinobi and sat him against the wall. "Shizune!" The Hokage's assistance came running over and stopped at the sight of the assassinated elder. "We don't have to worry about her death," Tsuande said. "Focus on getting him to the hospital."

Tsuande left the unconscious ninja in the care of Shizune as she headed up to the roof. The chakra she felt earlier was there, along with many others that belonged to the shinobis of the village. When the Hokage reached her destination, her chocolate orbs saw unconscious ANBU ninjas by the railing while others attacked the enemy at the center. Mitokado Homura was guarded by a group of elite shinobis; the fear written on his face was evidence that he was the target.

"All ANBU members pull back." Upon hearing the order, all the elite ninjas that were on the attack withdrew and surrounded the enemy. "The village of Konoha does not welcome any enemies. Surrender peacefully or die trying to escape."

Tsunade laid her eyes on the sole person that was standing in the center with a ghostly figure surrounding him. His dark colored hair was in a familiar style, but she couldn't figure out who it could be. He wore the uniform of the elites, the white and red mask covering his face. Handing from his waist was a pouch drenched in blood. The ghostly figure slowly vanished as the man turned to face the Hokage. Black crows began to emerge from his body and flew around the sole figure. A figure suddenly appeared beside him, facing the Hokage as well. He was also dressed in the uniform of the elites with the mask over his face. His hair was pulled back into a small ponytail. Not one speck of blood was visible upon their clothing even though Koharu's death was considered brutal.

"Our business doesn't involve Konoha." The second figure said, his voice familiar to the Hokage. "We will be gone once the task is finished." The first figure turned his attention toward Homura. "Allow us to discard of Homura."

"Bullshit!" Tsunade yelled. "How does this not involve the village when you have given death to one of the elders already and seek to do the same to the other?" She asked the masked man that had spoken. "If you wanted chaos to befall Konoha, why don't you come after me instead?"

"It is neither chaos nor destruction that I want for Konoha, but peace." He sighed. "Koharu and Danzo have been dealt with. Now all that is left is Homura."

"Explain the reason for killing them."

"I attempted to keep the peace in Konoha once before and failed." He lifted his left hand and slowly removed the mask hiding his identity. "This is the only thing I can do for them Tsunade and I have you to thank for giving me this chance." Red orbs stared directly at Tsunade; she couldn't believe who she was looking at. "I believe you know the reasons for my actions."

"Itachi?"

Nothing was logical; Shizune has performed an autopsy and she had personally worked on his eyes. The older Uchiha brother was supposed to be dead, but he was standing before her.

"Toss the pouch otouto," Itachi said to the other masked ninja.

Tsunade couldn't believe her eyes as the second masked figure removed his mask to reveal his identity.

"Sasuke?"

He shouldn't be able to stand yet along fight after all the injuries he had received. The younger Uchiha reached for the pouch on his waist and then tossed it several feet away from Tsunade.

"Danzo's greed for power has been ended by us." Itachi said. "The Uchiha's clan greatest gift will only belong to us now."

She saw some of the contents roll out of the opening and her eyes widen. Those eyeballs were all the crimson orbs of the Sharingan. She knew there had to be several pairs of eyes in the pouch.

"Amaterasu," Sasuke whispered.

Black flames appeared, burning the eyeballs and the pouch quickly.

"Danzo will no longer bother the peace of the village," Itachi said.

"Sasuke, think about Sakura and your child!" She had to get through to him before things turned worse. "You can choose a different path than Itachi." Her hazel eyes watched as the young man place the mask back over his face. "You don't need to spill any more blood Sasuke! Your hands don't have to be tainted!"

"The blood spilled has not tainted Sasuke at all and won't affect his future." A small smirk appeared on Itachi's lips before the mask was placed over his face. "This sin will follow me to my grave once I am done." The ghostly figure began to take form once again. "You won't remember…"

The amount of crows began to increase in number and flew around the brothers. Her chocolate brown orbs watched as the elite shinobis dropped to ground one by one. Tsunade didn't get the chance to comprehend what was occurring before everything went black.

* * *

"Sakura." She felt someone slightly shaking her shoulder.

Her emerald orbs revealed themselves slowly and met the sole visible eye of Kakashi. As she supported herself to sit up, the silver haired man helped her. Sakura looked around the room and noticed Sasuke was nowhere in sight.

"Where is Sasuke-kun?" She was confused; she remembered being in his arms. "Did something happen to him?"

"Don't worry, Tsuande-sama is checking the condition of his eyes."

The door slid open suddenly and a fatigued Naruto entered. "They still haven't found Sasuke-teme!"

Sakura's body tensed as the silver haired man's visible orb narrowed at the blond. They had agreed to keep Sasuke's disappearance a secret from Sakura, but it seems like the blond forgot. Kakashi had lied to Sakura in order to keep her from worrying; he didn't want to risk her health. Not wanting to sit around, the pink haired woman stepped onto the cold hospital floors, but was stopped from going any further.

"You shouldn't be up Sakura," Kakashi said. "Naruto and I will go and help with the search." He directed her back into bed. "We'll find him and bring him back."

After taking one last glance at the kunoichi, Kakashi left the room with Naruto in search of Sasuke. She felt helpless knowing she wasn't allowed to do anything. Her emerald orbs looked out the window and saw the sun was setting. As she lay upon the hospital bed he has occupied, Sakura stared out the window. For reasons unknown reason, she felt she knew where he possibly was. She questioned herself about whether going out to find him. Sakura was aware of Kakashi getting worried if he found out she was missing too, but her gut was telling her where Sasuke was. She got off the bed, glanced at the door, and then opened the window. She allowed the breeze to enter the room and sway her locks back. She touched her flat belly and took in a deep breath; she wasn't doing this for her own selfish reasons.

Because she didn't want to be noticed, Sakura brought her hands together and placed a jutsu on herself. Her hair color changed from blossom pink to black and her clothes changed to normal attire. She placed on the sandals that were in the corner to make it easier for her to walk through the streets. After taking one last look at the door, Sakura jumped out the window and headed toward the place she believed Sasuke was at.

She headed through the busy street, squeezing in between the crowds and passing familiar people. She tried not to look suspicious as she passed the ninjas roaming the streets. When she reached the desolate area, Sakura checked to make sure no one was following her. She carefully opened the large gate, released the jutsu, and then closed the gate. She stared at the destruction created by the battle. Sakura knew there were some precious memories of Sasuke and Itachi that revolved around their home, but now those memories would only be in his heart. She bowed out of respect before walking in; she didn't care whether the Uchiha clan was good or not, the dead deserved respect.

Sakura carefully walked through the destruction. She didn't want to disturb the environment, afraid of injuring herself and the developing fetus in her womb. When she reached the center of the compound, she saw a body lying there. She rushed over and the closer she got she began to recognize the person. Sakura saw the bandages that were around his eyes had been removed and the hospital clothes he wore were slightly soiled. She kneeled beside him and saw all the bandages he once had were gone. She quickly checked his pulse and was relived to know he was alive.

She touched his cheek gently. "Sasuke-kun…" She received no response and shook his shoulders gently to prevent any injuries that weren't completely healed from getting worse. "Wake up Sasuke-kun." Again, he didn't response. "Onegai Sasuke-kun, wake up."

He heard her voice calling for him. Onyx orbs revealed themselves slowly when he felt someone shake him gently. His vision was completely blurred, but he was able to make out the voice. "Sakura?" His vision was getting slightly better, but everything was still fuzzy. "Where am I?"

She smiled a small smile of relief. "We're back in the compound." She looked at him puzzled. "Do you know how you got here?"

He shook his head and tried to sit up, but his entire body ached. He felt his condition was worse compared to when he was in the hospital. Sakura helped him and noticed the pained look written on his face.

"Are you hurt?"

Sasuke clenched his hands into fists. "My entire body is in pain."

Sakura spotted a shaded area. "I'll help you walk over there to rest."

She brought Sasuke's right arm over her shoulder and helped him up. She supported as much weight as he would allow her to and headed to the shade. As she guided him, she noticed his eyes were unusually blank and unfocused. Sakura slowly settled her husband down then sat beside him and directed him to lay his head against her lap. He didn't protest against her and did as she said. With a small about of chakra gathered in her right hand, she placed it on Sasuke's forehead to ease some of the pain.

He didn't understand why his sight was unclear, but it was gradually improving. Sasuke didn't want to tell Sakura about it because she would worry about him. Not only that, but she would use her chakra to try to heal him too. He assumed it was the effects of the Sharingan eye beginning to catch up to him.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked.

"Hn." Sakura noticed he was staring blankly at nothing in particular, as if he was thinking about something. "I don't deserve to be alive." Sakura looked down at her husband with a sad expression. "I don't deserve to have you."

"Don't say that…." She placed her hand over his heart. "You deserve to have me more than anyone else. There is no other man out there that sees me the way you do." Her free hand ran threw his hair. "I wouldn't give myself to anyone else even if you didn't want me."

Sasuke didn't know what to say to her and remained silent. He thought back to his childhood; the memory of him chasing Itachi after the massacre flooded his mind. He thought about it long and hard. He remembered throwing a few kunais and shurikens at Itachi. They all missed, but one scrapped against the headband on his forehead. He was the one that put the scratch there that symbolized Itachi becoming a rouge ninja. One thing he had over looked that Itachi had tears flowing from his eyes. That was the last time he saw Itachi before he disappeared into the night, leaving him alone.

"He was crying that night." Sakura was confused. "I thought I was seeing things and didn't want to believe it." He clenched his hands into fist. "I killed an innocent man Sakura."

Sakura couldn't understand why he was being so hard on himself. Those hidden memories within her mind really hurt her because she had been living a lie for so long. Sasuke on the other hand had a small amount of memory from his childhood locked away. She knew the story about Itachi would really affect him because he had believed for so long that his brother really had betrayed his family.

"You had nothing to do with Itachi's death. You may have wounded him, but I believe you didn't kill him Sasuke-kun. Itachi lied to you in order to get you to believe him. He made the difficult choice to make you hate him."

"I choose to hate him based only on what I saw."

"Itachi had no other choice but to trick you Sasuke-kun." She looked up at the sky. "I think he felt having his life ended by you would bring him peace, but he didn't die by your hands."

Sasuke closed his eyes. "I wish it were true, but it's not." He felt droplets fall against his skin and opened his eyes to see a clear sight of Sakura crying. As much as it hurt, he lifted his hand up and brushed away the tears. "Why are you crying?"

"Itachi did this for our happiness, your happiness Sasuke-kun." She sniffed. "He wanted what was best for you and died doing it. He has done terrible things to us, to you, but he did it out of love." He didn't say anything. "Live for him Sasuke-kun, live your life for Itachi."

Sasuke sat up and avoided looking at her. "Sakura…"

"Live for me… live for your child." Sasuke stared into her emerald orbs. "We need you here." She told his hand and placed it over her belly. "I need you here to help raise the child growing within my womb." Sakura reached out and cupped his face. "Don't give up on life when you still have us."

She was right, he had a purpose to live and it was for her. He was her contentment while she was his. As long as she was by his side through think and thin, nothing else matted to him. He was an Uchiha, and giving up meant failure. Sasuke wasn't going to back out or destroy the bond he had created with Sakura. She had never given up on him and now it was his turn to become the pillar of support for her. He had a new responsibility now and it was caring for his family. Sakura wasn't just the female teammate from team seven anymore; she was his wife and in her womb grew a child he had created with her. He was going to make her the happiest woman.

Sasuke withdrew his hand from her abdomen and moved to sit beside her. He wrapped his arm around her waist and nudged her slightly, telling her to move. Sakura willing moved and sat in between his legs, leaning against his body gently. He her took her right hand in his and brought it up to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on her smooth knuckle. A small smile made its way on her lips as he placed their hands over his heart.

"Arigatou Sakura… for everything."

* * *

Hello readers! It has been a long time since I last posted. Sorry for any errors present. There will be an epilogue chapter to close off the story.

Please review. They are greatly appreciated!


	33. Epilogue

Epilogue

The clear dark sky allowed the moon and stars to shine brightly. The humid weather kept most people from leaving the coolness their house provided. The streets were quiet with only several ninjas roaming the streets to return home after a long day. Night stands that offered food and alcohol had their usual customers, mostly ninjas.

He had returned not to long ago and was exhausted from his high ranked guarding mission. His muscles were slightly sore from rushing back; he and his team didn't want to spend another night sleeping in the forest. Not a single stain was visible upon his uniform for the elite, but he was going to allow his wife to check over his condition to make sure he was fine. The red and white mask of a hawk hung on his waist, fastened around his belt. His raven hair was still in its natural spiked style with loose bangs around his face. He was tall with a lean muscular built that attracted many females.

As he walked into the rebuilt compound, memories from his past came to him. When he reached the front door of the single large manor, he heard the laughter of children inside. He had expected his family to be asleep, but the lights on in the manor told him otherwise. He pulled out a key from his pouch and unlocked the door. He opened the door and entered, closing it behind him and locking it. As he took off his sandals, he heard footsteps heading his way. He stood up straight and saw his wife standing before him with a smile on her lips.

"Sakura…"

"Welcome back Sasuke-kun."

Her silky pink locks had grown down to her waist; he had told her to grow it out during her first pregnancy, indirectly stating he liked her with long hair. She didn't complain over his request; she thought having long hair gave her more of the motherly look. Her emerald colored orbs showed warmth and love as she started into his dark onyx ones. Her lean muscles had a layer of fat covering it, giving her the curves that she had. Her body hadn't lost its stunning figure even after her pregnancies; it was one of the reasons why the women of the village were jealous of her.

Sakura stepped forward and stood on her toes as she placed a kiss on his lips. "I'm glad you're home." Her hands reached out for his pack. "I'll take your pack for you."

Sasuke handed her his backpack and followed her into the living room. When they entered, he saw their children playing.

"Bedtime," Sakura said.

All seven children turned their heads. The only girl among them stood up and came running toward Sasuke. He kneeled down, letting his little girl run and hug him. Her bright emerald orbs were large and innocent; her smile could light up anyone. Her hair was short and silky, but instead of her mother's pink hair, she had his dark raven hair.

"Tou-chan is home!" she yelled out happily.

Sasuke picked her up. "Have you been good hime?"

She nodded her head. "Can I stay up longer kaa-chan?" she asked, turning her attention to her mother. "I want to play with tou-chan."

Sakura took her little girl from Sasuke and shook her head. "Iie Sayuri-chan," she replied. "I let all of you stay up late for the past couple night already and your tou-chan needs to rest. Go to bed now boys."

The boys groan as they got up and headed to the stairs. Sakura placed her little girl down and patted her butt to tell her to follow her brothers upstairs. Sakura stood up and looked over at her husband.

"I'll be right back to check on you after I tuck them in."

"Aa…"

Sasuke watched her retreat upstairs then went to the couch to sit down. Even though he disliked being cooped up at the manor at times, he was glad to be home. He turned his gaze over to the alter stand and looked at the photo in the very center. The image of his brother when he was young stared back at him with content expression on his face. It was the only photo of Itachi they could find from the archives. Anything that as stored in the compound was burn to the ground on the day of his death; including the photos of their precious time together. The guilt he had once filled his heart was gone when he had learned his brother had not died in his hands.

Next to it was a tablet with the name Suki engraved on it. It was the name Sakura had given to their beloved daughter whom they had lost. He remembered how hard it was for her, especially after the birth of their first son.

"You always look at them when you return from a mission." He turned his gaze over to the voice and saw Sakura walking over to him. She sat at his side with a small smile on her face. "I wonder how they're doing?"

"Aa…"

"I hope Suki isn't causing trouble for Itachi," she said. Sasuke noticed the hit of sadness hidden behind her voice and took her hand in his. "I wish we could have met her Sasuke-kun."

"I know…"

She turned her attention to him. "Just relax now."

He lay relaxed on the couch as a pair of chakra infused hands checked his body for injuries of any kind.

"You have a lot of built up stress Sasuke-kun," her soft voice said. "You have also few strained muscles too." She smiled at him. "You may be healthy now, but stress can make it worse."

"Hn."

"Even if you don't want me to," she whispered. "I'll always worry about you." She turned her gaze away from him. "Especially when you're away on missions."

"Aa…"

She moved her glowing hands to his sides and stopped when she found a bruise on his left side. The medic singled her husband to sit up to remove the guard and shirt. After doing so, Sasuke lay back down and turned so that she would be able to heal the bruise. She frowned at the sight of the large discoloration on his slightly tanned skin.

"How was the mission?" Sakura asked. Sasuke grunted when she applied some pressure to his wound to find out how bad it was. "I take it the stress and this large bruise was from the mission."

"The dobe doesn't know how to sleep still."

Sakura giggled. "Didn't you put in the request for three beds when you guys went to stay at the inns?" Sasuke didn't answer and scowled. "I assume they didn't have it and you had to share a bed with Naruto."

"Hn…"

"How is your eyesight?" she asked as she placed her index and middle finger of both hands against his temple. "There hadn't been any problems with Itachi's eyes right?"

Sasuke nodded his head slightly to answer her. When she was done, Sakura stopped the flow of chakra to her hands. She shifted her position and lay beside him with her head resting against his bare chest. Sasuke wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her close to him. The couple was quiet as they enjoyed the peace together. It was times like these did they get to enjoy each other's company. Sasuke closed his eyes and rest, letting his body slowly seep into unconsciousness. Unfortunately his mind wouldn't allow him to fully rest because his wife's slender fingers were drawing circles upon his chest. He didn't mind it at all for it ease him; it was better than having a certain blond twitching in his sleep and elbowing him in his ribs every ten to fifteen minutes.

"You should sleep in tomorrow to rest up," she suggested. Sakura shifted her position and lay on top of Sasuke. "You get to sleep in a comfortable bed again." She placed her forehead against his. "And I get to cuddle in bed with my beast after two weeks."

"I don't cuddle."

She pouted. "Would you rather cuddle up with me in bed, share a bed with Naruto, or be guarding the Hokage on his trips?" Sasuke opened his eyes and slightly glared at her. "You have to choose one." He growled lightly and she laughed, knowing what his answer would be. "I know you defiantly wouldn't want to share a bed with Naruto. Unfortunately it's protocol for the Hokage to have guards when attending to another country's meeting. Kakashi-sensei was just making his last run as Hokage and Naruto will be inaugurated in a couple days." She chuckled. "I bet Naruto will always have you with him when he leaves the village for Kage business." Sasuke sighed. "This must be Naruto's way of punishing you for voting for Kakashi to be the next Kage years ago."

She remembered it all clearly; she was there with Sasuke that day. Not long after their son was born, Tsunade had announced she was going to pass the position of Hokage down to the next successor, but would allow the head of each clan of the village nominate candidates. Kakashi and Naruto were two of the nominees that were being deliberated about. Toward the end of the meeting votes were being counted. It was a tie between the two and Sasuke was the only one left that hadn't voted yet. Unfortunately, the head of the Uchiha clan saw that blond loud mouth wasn't suited to be Hokage yet and voted for his former team instructor.

When word got out that Uchiha Sasuke was the tiebreaker and voted for Kakashi instead of Naruto, the blond was outraged. In order to make Sasuke change his mind, Naruto challenged him to a spar and if he won he would have to take his vote for Kakashi back and let him become Hokage instead. The two ended up sparing for a whole day to the point both were injured badly and sent to the hospital for healing and recovery.

"In the end you would choose to cuddle with me even if you don't want to admit it." Sakura sat up straddling his waist and looked at her husband. "Rest up some more and then head upstairs for a shower before going to bed," she said. "Sleeping on the couch isn't good for you."

He nodded his head to show her he understood. Sasuke closed his eyes and felt her lips against his before she got off to leave the room. All was quiet in the house except for the sound of the running water his sharp hearing picked up. His mind was slowing drifting off into unconsciousness until he heard footsteps heading towards him.

"Tou-chan!"

He opened his onyx eyes to see the source of the voice that called for him. Sayuri came running into the room, climbed onto the couch he laid on, and sat on the side facing him.

"You're suppose to be asleep," Sasuke said to her.

She crossed her arms over chest and pouted. "But I'm not tired."

He sighed. _You're stubborn like your kaa-san._ He sat up and carried her as he got off the couch. "Close your eyes and you'll fall asleep."

"Iie!" Sayuri said.

His brows furrowed. "You're going to sleep and that's final."

Sayuri continued to pout despite what her father said to her. He carried up to the bedroom she shared with her twin. He saw his youngest son lying in bed, attempting to twirl a wooden toy kunai with his finger. The youngest Uchiha son looked a bit famine, but he knew the boy would grow out of just like he did. He placed his little girl down on her bed and pulled the blanket over her small body.

"Sleep now," he said to her as he grabbed her stuff pig plushy and put it in her arms. "You too Shouta."

Shouta nodded and placed the toy kunai close to the side. After making sure the twins were in bed, he turned off the lights and slid the door close. He saw the lights of two other bedrooms off and assumed his sons were asleep already. He saw his oldest son was still awake and went to see what he was up to.

"You need to sleep Shouhei," Sasuke said when he stood at the doorway.

The said boy turned to see his father at the entrance of his room. Uchiha Shouhei was the first child born into the new Uchiha clan. He was the very image of Sasuke as young boy in appearance. His personality was somewhat carefree, but he was mature for his age. He had a scroll unrolled on his lap that he had been skimming over for the past few days. The young boy rolled up the scroll and placed it on the table near by.

"Can you help me tomorrow with my training tou-san?" Shouhei asked.

Sasuke didn't answer and watched his son tuck himself into bed before turning off the lights. "Only if I have time," he replied before closing the door.

He ran his hand tough his hair as he walked toward the master bedroom. Sasuke couldn't help feel he might have disappointed his son with the answer he had given, but he didn't know what to say to him. Sasuke had a hard time connecting with his own father as a kid and it affected him greatly. He was closer to his mother because she took care of him and showered him with love. In his eyes, Sakura was a good mother, showing their children the love he could never really show. He let out a soft sigh of frustration; in his own opinion, they were easier to handle when they were babies.

—xXx—

Warm water rained down on her naked body, soothing her stressed body and mind. The soap upon her light peach skin ran off her body along with the water. After a long day at the hospital and returning home to care for her family, this was what she needed. There were some visible stretch marks adoring her lower abdomen that was left behind after giving birth. Sakura turned her head to face the spewing warm water to wash away all the grime upon her body. She felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around her petite body as he nuzzled her neck from behind. Knowing exactly who it was, she moved so that the water drenched the newcomer.

"Shouhei wanted me to help him train," Sasuke said.

"Did you say yes to him?" she asked with a smile. "The two of you can use the time to bond." When she didn't get an answer, Sakura frowned. "What did you say to him?"

"If I had time to."

"You defiantly have time Sasuke-kun." Sakura cupped his face to make him face her. "I know being a father is hard for you, but sometimes you have to let loose and spend time with them."

"Aa…"

"I'm going to make sure they're all asleep."

Sakura smiled at him and rinsed off before stepping out of the shower. She wrapped the towel around her body as she grabbed the blow drier to dry her waist long wet hair. When her silkily locks was dried, she took the two chopsticks on the sink counter and coiled her hair up into a neat bun. She dropped the towel around her body to the ground and began to dress herself. Sakura could feel his piercing gaze on her body as she moved around to get dressed. She put on her black colored laced lingerie and bra then grabbed the large black sleeveless haori to put on. She took a simple sash and wrapped it around her waist to keep her husband's cloth secure around her small body. The haori reached her thigh half way, keeping her covered and cool for the night. She slid opened the bathroom door and closed it behind her.

Sakura went over to the rice paper door and entered the small living room that was connected to the master bedroom. Photos were placed on the shelf neatly along with albums. She stepped out of the master bedroom and went to check on each of her children.

She first went to Shouhei's room. He laid in bed sound asleep with the blankets pushed to the side. To the side of his pillow sat two plush dolls she had made for him before he was born, one of Sasuke and the other of Itachi. She grabbed the thinnest sheet and covered his small body. He turned and opened his dark eyes to see who has placing the blanket of him.

"It's only me Shouhei," she whispered. "Did I wake you?"

The boy shook his head and closed his eyes. "Will tou-san be able to train me tomorrow?" he asked sleepily.

Sakura smiled at her son. "Don't worry, he will," she said and kissed him on the cheek. "Now go to sleep Shou-chan."

"Hai kaa-san…" he whispered before letting sleep take over him completely.

She left the room silently and went to look at her second son Sora. When she entered his room, she found him sleeping on his stomach with is head turned to the side. Not wanting him to damage his spine at a young age, Sakura gently carried Sora up and turned him to his side. Sasuke had said he looked a bit like Itachi as a young boy without the bangs under his eyes. She grabbed the stuff plush of Itachi she had made and put it on the corner of his bed. She placed a kiss on his cheek and headed out to check on her other children.

She entered the room belonging to the triplets and found all three sleeping differently. The oldest, Satoki, was sleeping too close to the edge, the middle of the three, Satoru, was sprawled over the bed with the pillow and blanket on the ground, and the youngest of the three, Satoshi, was curled up. She sighed quietly as she went over to her oldest triplet. Sakura carried him up slightly and positioned him in the middle of the bed. She stroked his raven locks and kissed him on the cheek. Sakura went to the Satoru, picking up the pillow and blanket on the ground. She placed the boy's head on the pillow and draped the blanket over him. Again she leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. She then went over to Satoshi who was sleeping in a comfortable position. She leaned down and kissed his cheek.

She looked at the triplets one last time before leaving the room. She walked down the hall to the last room and saw the twins were both asleep. Shouta sleep perfectly still while his little sister tossed and turned in her bed. Knowing that it was due to the heat, Sakura turned on the fan to allow the room to be cool. She went over to her son's bed and sat at his side; she remembered how her little boy would cling to her when he was a baby. She gently stroke his raven locks then placed a kiss on his temple. Sakura went over to Sayuri and stroke her back, easing her to sleep. Her little girl was precious to her because she had almost lost her. There were complications during the delivery after Shouta was born that if Tsuande hadn't prepared for an emergency cesarean ahead of time it wouldn't just have been Sayuri, but possibly Sakura as well. When the sole Uchiha daughter was asleep, Sakura placed a kiss on Sayuri's head and left the room.

Sakura walked down the quiet hallway back to the master bedroom. She entered the small living room and saw a half empty bottle of sake on the table. Giving in to her desires, she took up the bottle of alcohol and took a gulp of it. Liking the taste, she emptied the rest of the burning liquid down her throat. She entered the bedroom and saw her husband dressed only in his dark boxers lying on the bed with his eyes closed. After removing the chopsticks from her hair, the pink haired woman claimed onto the king sized bed and rested her head on her husband's chest. Sasuke turned onto his side and pulled the woman closer him. She was thankful his alcohol breath wasn't strong or she would force him to rinse his mouth. One of his hands was stroking her side tenderly while the other ran through her long hair.

"Did you ever expect this to be your future Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked. The head of the clan didn't answer. "I had dreamt about being held in your arms when I was younger and now, I have more than that."

"Aa…"

"I was lost until my life began to intertwine with yours." Her emerald orbs gazed up at his clam face. "Are you lost Sasuke-kun?"

Onyx orbs revealed themselves and stared into the emerald ones in front of him. "Iie, I'm right where I belong…"

He drew his face closer to hers and their lips met.

"…Together with you."

* * *

**Hey there everyone! Thanks to everyone that read this fanfic. I know this seems to be a quick ending, but I thought it was time to close off this story.  
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**Please review!**

**Check out my newest SASUSAKU fic Target!**


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